" 


ANNA  CHAPIN  RAY'S  BOOKS. 


"  A  quiet  sly  humor,  a  faculty  of  investing  every-day  events  with  a 
dramatic  interest,  a  photographic  touch  which  places  her  characters  before 
the  reader,  and  a  high  moral  tone  are  to  be  remarked  in  Miss  Ray." 

—  Detroit  Tribune. 

HALF    A    DOZEN    BOYS. 

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HALF   A    DOZEN    GIRLS. 

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IN    BLUE   CREEK    CANON. 

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NEW  YORK  AND  BOSTON. 


11  A    jiiaitfitt-  of  I  JON*  and  -iris  were  dailin-  about  on  skates." 
—  Pago  1 . 


IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON 


BY 

ANNA    CHAPIN    RAY 

; ! 

AUTHOR    OF    "HALF   A   DOZEN    BOYS,"    "HALF   A    DOZEN   GIRLS,"    HTC. 


NEW  YORK:   46  EAST  i4TH  STREET 

THOMAS   Y.    CROWELL   &    CO. 

BOSTON:   too  PURCHASE  STREET 


COPYRIGHT, 

1802, 
]'Y  THOMAS  Y.  CKOVVELL  &  Co, 


J'rinfeti  and  Electrolysed  by 
ALKKKD  MUIK;H  &  SON,  BOSTON. 


IF  you've  wronged  him,  speak  him  fair. 
Say  you  're  sorry  and  make  it  square ; 
If  he  's  wronged  you,  wink  so  tight 
None  of  you  see  what 's  plain  in  sight. 

When  the  world  goes  hard  and  wrong, 
Lend  a  hand  to  help  him  along; 
\Vhen  his  stockings  have  holes  to  darn, 
Don't  you  grudge  him  your  ball  of  yarn. 


Stick  to  each  other  through  thick  and  thin; 
All  the  closer  as  age  leaks  in; 
Squalls  will  blow,  and  clouds  will  frown, 
But  stay  by  your  ship  till  you  all  go  down  ! 


OLIVER  WENDELL  HOLMES. 


SOo 


CONTENTS. 


I.  A  COUNCIL  ON  SKATES 7 

II.  To  WELCOME  THE  COMING  GUEST          ...  23 

III.  THE  EVERETT  HOUSEHOLD 44 

IV.  ON  THE  CROSS-HEAD 61 

V.  THE  MEETING  IN  THE  WATERS      ....  77 

VI.  MARJORIE'S  PARTY 92 

VII.  JANEY'S  PROPHECY 110 

VIII.  IN  THE  DARK 127 

IX.  CAMPING  ON  THE  BEAVERHEAD       .        .        .        .145 

X.  UP  THE  GULCH 163 

XI.  " SWEET  CHARITY'S  SAKE" 180 

XII.  HOME  WITHOUT  A  MOTHER    .        .        .        ...  199 

XIII.  AT  THE  NINE-HUNDRED  LEVEL      .        .        .         .216 

XIV.  THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  OLD  STORY      .        .        .  233 
XV.  MR.  ATHERDEN 250 

XVI.  THE  COMPLETED  STORY 268 

XVII.  THE  TRAGEDY  OF  THE  UNEXI-ECTED       .         .         .  283 

XVIII.  UNDER  ORDERS 299 


IN   BLUE  CREEK   CANON. 


CHAPTER   I. 

A   COUNCIL    ON    SKATES. 

A  STRONG  southeast  wind  was  blowing  up  the 
canon  and  driving  before  it  the  dense  yellow 
smoke  which  rolled  up  from  the  great  red  chim 
neys  of  the  smelter.  To  the  east  and  west  of  the 
town,  the  mountains  rose  abruptly,  their  steep  sides 
bare  or  covered  with  patches  of  yellow  pine.  At 
the  no#h,  the  canon  closed  in  to  form  a  narrow 
gorge  between  the  mountains ;  but  towards  the 
south  it  opened  out  into  a  broad  valley,  through 
which  the  swiftly  rushing  creek  twisted  and  turned 
along  its  willow-bordered  bed.  A  half  mile  below 
the  town  the  creek  suddenly  broadened  into  a  little 
lake  that  was  now  frozen  over,  forming  a  sheet  of 
dazzling  ice,  upon  which  a  quartette  of  boys  and 
girls  were  darting  about  on  skates. 

"  Ugh  !  "  gasped  one  of  the  boys,  as  a  sudden 
gust  of  wind,  coming  straight  from  the  east,  brought 


;;  •       t\  ^BLU£   CREEK   CANON. 


' '/clouel ;\n  their  direction;  "I'm  glad 
1  in  not  up  in  town  this  afternoon.  It's  getting 
ready  for  a  storm,  I  think,  from  the  way  the  smoke 
comes  down ;  and  they  must  be  catching  it  all,  up 
there." 

"  Oh,  dear  !  "  sighed  the  girl  with  whom  he  was 
skating;  "if  it  storms  'twill  be  sure  to  be  more 
snow,  and  spoil  the  ice.  It's  too  bad,  for  we  get 
so  little  skating  out  here,  and  it 's  almost  time  to 
go  home  now.  Just  see  how  low  the  sun  is 
getting !  " 

"  Never  mind,  Marjorie,"  said  the  boy,  as  he 
paused  to  breathe  on  his  cold  fingers ;  then  held 
out  his  hand  to  her  once  more.  "  We  '11  have  one 
more  go  across  the  pond,  anyway,  for  there  's  no 
knowing  when  we  '11  have  another  chance.  You 
take  Allie,  Ned,  and  we  '11  race  you,  two  and  two, 
over  to  that  largest  stump.  Come  on,  and  get 
into  line.  One  !  two  !  three!  " 

Away  they  flew,  the  bright  blades  of  their 
skates  flashing  in  the  long  slanting  rays  of  the 
late  afternoon  sun,  and  their  eyes  and  cheeks 
glowing  with  the  cold  air  and  rapid  exercise. 
Marjorie  and  her  attendant  knight  were  the  first 
to  reach  the  goal,  and  turned,  panting,  to  face  the 
others  as  they  came  up  to  them. 


A   COUNCIL   ON   SKATES.  9 

"  That  was  just  fine  !  "  exclaimed  Allie's  com 
panion,  as  he  dropped  her  hand  and  spun  around 
in  a  narrow  circle  which  sent  the  chips  of  ice  fly 
ing  from  under  his  heel.  "  Don't  let 's  go  home 
just  yet,  't  won't  be  dark  for  an  hour  anyway,  and 
we  can  go  up  in  fifteen  minutes.  I  '11  race  you 
over  to  the  other  side  and  back  again,  Howard, 
while  the  girls  are  'getting  their  breath." 

11  You  don't  mind  being  left,  Allie?"  And  the 
taller  boy  glanced  at  the  girls. 

"All  right,  just  for  once,"  said  Allie;  "  then  we 
really  ought  to  go  up,  Howard  ;  mamma  wants  us 
to  be  home  in  good  season  to-night,  for  dinner 
is  going  to  be  early,  so  papa  can  get  the  train 
down." 

"  Is  your  father  going  away  again?  "  asked  Mar- 
jorie,  as  the  girls  skated  idly  to  and  fro,  waiting 
for  the  boys  to  join  them.  "  I  thought  he  came 
in  from  camp  only  this  morning." 

"  So  he  did,"  answered  her  friend,  burying  her 
small  nose  in  her  muff  for  a  moment,  as  she  faced 
the  cutting  wind.  "He's  only  going  down  to 
Pocatello  to-night,  and  out  on  the  main  line  a 
little  ways,  to  meet  Charlie  MacGregor,  our  cousin 
that's  coming." 

"  Yes,"  nodded  Marjorie,  in  acquiescence ;   "  I 


10  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

remember  now ;  I  'd  forgotten  he  was  coming  so 
soon.  What  fun  you'll  have  with  him,  Allie  !  I 
wish  I  had  a  brother,  or  cousin,  or  something." 

"  Perhaps  I  shall  wish  I  didn't  have  both,"  said 
Allie,  laughing.  "  I  don't  know  how  he  and  How 
ard  will  get  on.  I  think  Howard  doesn't  want  him 
much ;  but  I  'd  just  as  soon  he  'd  be  here." 

"  What's  he  like?"  queried  Marjorie  curiously. 

"  I  haven't  much  idea;  I've  never  seen  him," 
said  Allie.  "  Papa  saw  him  when  he  was  east  last 
summer,  and  we  have  a  picture  of  him  taken  ever 
so  long  ago." 

"Who's  that  —  Charlie  MacGregor?"  asked 
Howard,  skating  up  to  them  at  that  moment. 
"  He  's  not  much  to  look  at,  Marjorie,  if  his  pic 
ture  's  any  good.  He  has  a  pug  nose  and  wears 
giglamps,  and  I've  a  suspicion  that  he's  a  fearful 
dude.  He  '11  be  a  tenderfoot,  of  course,  but  he  '11 
get  over  that ;  but  if  he  's  a  dude,  we  boys  will 
make  it  lively  for  him." 

"  Howard,  you  sha'n't !  "  remonstrated  his  sister, 
loyally  coming  to  the  defence  of  their  unknown 
cousin.  "  It  must  be  horrid  for  him  to  lose  all  his 
friends  and  have  to  be  sent  out  here  to  relations 
he  doesn't  know  nor  care  anything  about,  just  like 
a  barrel  of  flour."  Allie's  metaphors  were  becom- 


A   COUNCIL   ON   SKATES.  I  I 

ing  mixed ;  but  she  never  heeded  that,  as  she 
went  on  proudly:  "  And  besides,  we  're  MacGreg- 
ors  as  much  as  he  is,  and  mamma  says  that  no 
MacGregor  was  ever  rude  to  a  cousin,  or  to  any 
body  in  trouble." 

"  Good  for  you,  Allie  !  "  shouted  the  younger 
boy,  as  he  stopped  in  the  middle  of  a  figure  eight 
to  applaud  her  words.  "  You  're  in  the  right  of 
it;  but  you  needn't  think  you  '11  ever  keep  Howard 
in  order.  How  old  is  this  lad,  anyhow?" 

"  Half  way  between  Howard  and  me,"  replied 
Allie,  as  they  started  to  skate  slowly  up  the  creek 
towards  home,  and  Howard  and  Marjorie  dropped 
a  little  in  the  rear.  "  He  was  thirteen  last  sum 
mer,  and  papa  says  he  's  a  real,  true  musician. 
He  '11  bring  his  own  piano  with  him ;  but  I  don't 
know  where  he  '11  find  room  to  put  it,  for  our 
house  is  full  as  can  be,  now.  Then  he  sings,  too, — 
at  least,  he  used  to,  —  in  a  boy  choir.  Have  n't  you 
seen  his  picture,  Ned?  It's  homely,  but  it  looks 
as  if  he  might  not  be  so  bad." 

"  Where  's  he  coming  from?  "  asked  Ned. 

"  New  York.  He  's  lived  there  always  ;  but,  you 
know,  his  father  died  two  years  ago,  and  his  mother 
last  month.  He  hasn't  any  relations  but  just  us, 
so  he  is  to  live  here  for  a  while.  You  and  Howard 


12  IX   BLUE    CREEK   CANON. 

will  stand  by  him,  won't  you,  Ned?"  she  added 
persuasively,  laying  her  mitten ed  hand  on  his. 
"  I  'm  afraid  the  other  boys  will  run  on  him  and 
make  fun  of  him.  Don't  tell  Howard  I  said  so, 
but  I  don't  expect  to  like  him  much  myself,  only 
I  'm  sort  of  sorry  for  him ;  and  then  he 's  our 
cousin,  so  I  suppose  we  must  make  sure  he  has  a 
good  time." 

"  I  won't  be  hard  on  him,  Allie,"  her  companion 
answered  her,  laughing  a  little  at  the  unwonted 
seriousness  of  her  tone ;  "  as  long  as  he  doesn't 
put  on  airs  and  talk  big  about  New  York  and  '  the 
way  we  do  East,'  and  all  that  poppycock,  I  '11  stand 
by  him.  But  if  he  's  coming  out  here  to  show  us 
how  to  do  it,  the  sooner  it 's  taken  out  of  him  the 
better." 

"  Wait  till  the  train  comes  in,  day  after  to 
morrow  morning,  Ned,"  said  Howard,  as,  with  a 
few  quick  strokes,  he  and  Marjorie  overtook  them 
once  more.  "We'll  take  a  look  at  him  and  see 
what  he  's  like,  before  we  make  too  many  prom 
ises.  Now,  then,  ma'am,"  he  added,  as  he  and 
Marjorie  paused  at  a  great  stone  on  the  bank  of 
the  creek;  "  if  you  '11  be  good  enough  to  sit  down, 
T  '11  have  your  skates  off  instanter." 

Marjorie   laughed,  as  she   dropped   down  on  the 


A   COUNCIL   ON   SKATES.  13 

stone  and  put  one  little  foot  on  Howard's  knee, 
while  Ned  performed  a  similar  service  for  Allie. 

"  I  'm  crazy  to  see  your  cousin,  Allie,"  she  said. 
"  I  know  he 's  going  to  be  great  fun,  only  I  'm 
afraid  he  '11  think  we  are  hopeless  tomboys.  Prob 
ably  he's  been  used  to  girls  that  sit  in  the  parlor 
and  sew  embroidery,  instead  of  skating  and  riding 
bronchos  bareback,  and  playing  hare  and  hounds 
with  the  boys." 

"  Don't  care  if  he  has  !  "  And  Allie  made  a  little 
grimace  of  defiance  as  she  scrambled  to  her  feet. 
"I  'm  not  going  to  give  up  all  my  good  times  and 
take  to  fancy  work,  when  it 's  as  much  as  I  can  do 
to  sew  on  my  own  buttons.  He  can  stay  in  the 
house,  and  sing  songs  and  sew  patchwork  all  day 
long,  if  he  wants  to,  but  I  'm  not  going  to  give  up 
all  my  frolics  ;  need  I,  boys?  "  she  concluded,  in  a 
mutinous  outburst,  quite  at  variance  with  her  re 
cent  plea  for  their  expected  guest. 

Howard  laughed  teasingly. 

" Catch  Allie  turning  the  fine  young  lady!  If 
you  shut  her  up  in  a  parlor,  she  'd  jump  over  the 
chairs  and  play  tag  with  herself  around  the  table ; 
and  Marjorie  is  about  as  bad." 

''Perhaps  I  am,"  she  assented  placidly;  "but 
you  boys  could  never  get  along  without  us.  I  've 


14  i.\    I5LUE   CREEK   CANON. 

heard  you  say,  over  and  over  again,  that  we  can 
catch  a  ball  as  well  as  half  the  boys  in  town,  and 
I  can  outrun  you  any  day.  Want  to  try?  " 

"  Not  much,"  returned  Howard,  laughing,  though 
there  rankled  in  his  mind  the  memory  of  recent 
races  in  which  he  had  not  been  the  winner.  "  You 
only  beat  me  because  you  've  been  used  to  this 
air  longer  than  I  have.  Besides,  it  would  hurry 
us  home  too  much,  and  I  Ve  an  idea  that  this 
may  be  the  last  time  that  we  four  chums  will 
be  off  together,  for  one  while.  I  shall  have  to 
trot  round  with  that  fellow,  for  the  next  week,  and 
show  him  the  ways  of  the  country,  so  he  won't 
make  too  great  a  jay  of  himself.  But,  I  say,  if  it 
doesn't  storm  to-morrow,  we  '11  come  down  here 
again  in  the  afternoon,  and  have  an  hour  or  two 
on  the  ice  before  it's  spoiled." 

With  their  skates  strapped  together  and  slung 
over  their  shoulders,  their  collars  turned  up  around 
their  ears,  and  their  hands  plunged  deep  into  pock 
ets  and  muffs,  they  turned  northward  along  the 
bank  of  the  creek  for  a  short  distance,  and  then 
struck  off  across  the  level,  open  ground  till  they 
came  into  one  of  the  streets  of  the  little  town, 
which  they  followed  until  they  reached  the  main 
business  street.  There  they  parted,  Ned  and 


A    COUNCIL   ON   SKATES.  15 

Marjoric  turning  to  the  west,  while  Howard  and 
Allic  kept  straight  on  towards  the  north,  and 
finally  stopped  at  a  small  brick  house,  a  low,  one- 
story  affair,  yet  much  more  elaborate  than  the 
average  dwelling  of  the  town,  where  the  architec 
ture  was  largely  of  the  log-house  species,  though 
often  covered  with  a  layer  of  boards  to  disguise 
the  primitive  nature  of  the  materials. 

The  front  door  opened  directly  into  the  little 
parlor,  and  into  this  cosy  room  Howard  and  Allie 
plunged,  laughing  and  breathless  after'their  quick 
walk  in  the  cold.  A  bright-faced  little  woman  sat 
sewing  by  the  front  window,  holding  up  her  work 
to  catch  the  last  fading  light,  and  a  rosy  boy,  two 
years  old,  was  tumbling  about  on  the  carpet,  roll 
ing  over  and  over  the  great  dog,  who  was  dozing 
as  peacefully  as  if  such  demonstrations  were  quite 
to  his  liking. 

"  Hullo,  mammy  !  Hullo,  Vic!  Dinner  ready?  " 
exclaimed  Howard,  casting  his  skates  into  the 
nearest  chair,  and  moving  up  to  the  stove  to  warm 
his  chilled  fingers. 

"How  was  the  skating?"  asked  his  mother, 
looking  up  from  her  work  to  smile  at  Allie,  as  she 
pulled  off  her  coat  and  hat,  and  then  caught  up 
the  child  from  the  floor. 


1 6  IN  BLUE    CREEK    CANON. 

"  Fine  ;  but  we  're  'most  starved  —  at  least,  I 
am,"  returned  Howard,  as  he  wriggled  himself  out 
of  his  coat  and  handed  it  to  Allie,  who  received 
it  quite  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  went  away  to 
hang  it  in  its  usual  place. 

"  Well,  dinner  is  all  ready,  and  papa  will  be 
here  in  a  minute ;  so  you  can  go  and  tell  Jancy  to 
take  it  up.  Do  you  know,"  she  added,  with  a 
laugh  which  took  all  the  sting  from  the  reproof; 
"  I  think  it  is  time  my  boy  learned  to  take  his 
sister's  coat  for  her,  instead  of  expecting  her  to 
wait  on  him." 

"All  right,"  answered  Howard,  by  no  means 
abashed  by  the  rebuke.  "  Here,  sis,  if  you  '11  just 
bring  back  your  coat  and  put  it  on  again,  I  '11  sec 
what  can  be  done  about  it."  And  he  bent  over  to 
stroke  his  mother's  hair  with  a  boyish  affection 
which  filled  her  heart  with  gratitude  for  having 
such  a  son,  even  while  it  sent  her  off  to  her  toilet 
table  to  repair  the  damages  which  his  fingers  had 
wrought.  Then  he  marched  out  to  the  kitchen  to 
tease  J aney,  until  she  threatened  to  pour  the  soup 
over  his  favorite  pudding,  unless  he  left  her  to 
take  up  the  dinner  in  peace. 

Mr.  Burnam,  Howard's  father,  was  a  successful 
civil  engineer,  who,  in  the  line  of  his  professional 


A   COUNCIL   ON    SKATES.  I/ 

life,  had  been  ordered  up  and  down  the  West  ac 
cording  to  the  demands  of  the  great  railroad  cor 
poration  by  whom  he  was  employed.  The  life  of 
a  locating  engineer  is  much  like  that  of  the  soldier, 
in  its  need  for  strict  obedience  to  orders,  and  for 
eighteen  years  Mr.  Burnam  had  been  stationed, 
now  here,  now  there,  —  on  the  rolling  prairies  of 
Iowa,  in  the  Dakota  bad  lands,  in  the  alkali  des 
erts  of  Wyoming,  and  among  the  canons  and 
passes  of  the  Colorado  Rockies.  Six  months 
before  this  time  he  had  been  ordered  to  western 
Montana,  to  lay  out  a  possible  railway  across  the 
mountains,  which  should  give  the  Pacific-coast  cities 
a  more  direct  connection  with  their  eastern  neigh 
bors.  The  survey  for  this  line  would  occupy  him  for 
a  year  or  more,  and  in  order  to  have  his  family  near 
him  during  this  time,  he  had  made  his  headquar 
ters  in  the  little  mining  camp,  which  the  first 
prospectors  along  the  canon,  some  four  years  be 
fore,  had  christened  "  Blue  Creek,"  from  the  clear, 
bright  waters  of  the  mountain  stream.  Here  he 
established  his  family  in  the  most  comfortable 
house  that  the  town  afforded,  and  here  he  had  his 
office,  which  served  as  headquarters  for  his  corps 
of  men,  whenever  they  came  in  town  for  a  few 
days.  By  virtue  of  his  position  as  chief  of  the 


1 8  IN   BLUE    CREEK    CANON. 

party,  Mr.  Burnam  often  spent  weeks  at  a  time  at 
home,  working  up  his  estimates  and  maps,  and 
only  driving  out  to  camp  now  and  then,  for  a  day 
or  two,  to  see  that  all  was  well  in  his  absence. 
Then,  just  as  his  family  were  settling  down  to  the 
full  enjoyment  of  his  society,  he  would  be  sent  for, 
to  oversee  some  difficult  bit  of  work,  and  Mrs. 
Burnam  and  Allie  would  be  left  to  the  protec 
tion  of  Howard,  and  of  Ben,  the  great  Siberian 
bloodhound,  who  was  as  gentle  as  a  kitten  until 
molested,  when  all  his  old  savage  instincts  sprang 
into  life. 

One  of  the  early  graduates  from  Cornell,  Mr. 
Burnam  had  gone  West  when  a  mere  boy,  fresh 
from  college ;  and  now,  at  forty,  he  had  made  him 
self  a  brilliant  reputation  in  his  profession.  The 
chief,  as  they  called  him,  was  adored  by  all  his 
men,  who  knew,  from  long  experience,  that  how 
ever  great  the  danger  and  hardship  might  be,  he 
was  always  ready  to  share  it  with  them,  and  that 
he  made  it  a  part  of  his  creed  never  to  ask  a  sub 
ordinate  to  take  a  risk  which  he  himself  would 
shun.  Quick-tempered  and  outspoken  in  the 
presence  of  any  suspicion  of  shirking  or  deceit,  he 
was  yet  a  just,  honorable  man  in  dealing  with  his 
"  boys,"  who  loved  and  respected  him  accordingly. 


A    COUNCIL   ON   SKATES.  19 

At  home,  he  was  a  different  man ;  for  he  threw 
aside  his  professional  dignity,  to  tease  his  wife, 
or  romp  with  his  children,  lavishing  upon  them  all 
the  love  of  which  his  great,  generous  nature  was 
capable. 

For  the  sake  of  her  husband,  Mrs.  Burnam  had 
willingly  cut  herself  adrift  from  her  family  and 
friends  in  New  York,  and  for  sixteen  years  she 
had  patiently  followed  him  here  and  there  through 
the  West ;  now  living  in  camp  for  a  summer,  now 
boarding  at  tiny  country  hotels,  in  order  to  be 
within  driving  distance  of  his  party ;  now  left  for 
months  at  a  time  in  the  busy  solitude  of  a  great 
city  hotel,  while  Mr.  Burnam  was  far  away  in  un 
explored  forests,  and  often,  as  now,  settled  near 
him  for  a  few  months  of  housekeeping  which 
should  give  her  children  at  least  a  slight  knowledge 
of  home  life  and  its  charms. 

Two  years  after  her  marriage,  a  little  son  had 
come  to  her,  and,  soon  after  that,  a  daughter  had 
helped  to  fill  out  the  family  circle.  It  seemed  to 
Mrs.  Burnam  but  a  few  months  since  then ;  but 
Howard  was  fourteen  now,  and  Allie  twelve,  while, 
two  years  before  this  time,  a  third  child  had  come 
to  brighten  the  home  with  his  baby  prattle  and 
pranks.  For  weeks,  his  name  had  been  a  subject 


20  IN   BLUE    CREEK    CANON. 

of  almost  constant  discussion,  until,  one  day, 
Howard  had  solved  the  problem  in  a  most  unex 
pected  fashion. 

"  I  '11  tell  you  what,"  he  said  suddenly;  "  name 
him  Victor,  for  my  new  bicycle."  And  the  name 
was  decided  upon  accordingly. 

Howard,  himself,  was  a  worthy  son  of  the  hand 
some,  brown-bearded  man  whom  he  called  papa. 
Tall,  slender,  and  yellow  haired,  he  was  as  bonnie 
a  laddie  as  ever  filled  a  mother's  heart  with  pride ; 
a  healthy,  happy  boy,  affectionate  and  generous, 
and  full  of  a  rollicking  fun  which  made  him  at 
once  the  delight  and  terror  of  his  sister,  who  never 
knew  in  what  direction  his  next  outbreak  would 
come.  In  spite  of  his  merciless  teasing,  the 
brother  and  sister  were  close  friends  and  constantly 
together.  Girls  were  scarce  in  the  town,  and  Allie 
and  her  one  friend,  Marjorie  Fisher,  would  have 
been  largely  left  to  their  own  devices,  had  it  not 
been  for  Howard  and  Ned  Everett,  through  whose 
influence  they  were  received  on  equal  terms  among 
the  boys,  and  had  a  share  in  most  of  their  good 
times.  It  was  no  uncommon  thing  to  hear  them 
speak  of  "  Allie  and  Marjorie  and  the  other  boys," 
and  neither  Mrs.  Burnam  nor  Mrs.  Fisher  felt  any 
desire  to  have  it  otherwise.  They  were  too  sensi- 


A   COUNCIL   ON   SKATES.  21 

ble  mothers  to  force  their  little  daughters  towards 
womanhood,  and  much  preferred  the  tone  of  free- 
and-easy  companionship  to  the  childish  flirtations 
so  commonly  indulged  in.  They  could  trust  to 
their  influence  over  their  children  to  keep  them 
gentle  and  womanly,  and  the  boys  were  all  gentle 
men,  largely  sons  of  Eastern  men  whom  business 
had  brought  to  the  town.  So  the  girls  walked  and 
rode,  skated  and  romped  with  the  lads,  uncon 
sciously  teaching  them  many  a  pretty  lesson  in 
chivalry,  while  in  return  the  boys  gave  them  a  train 
ing  which  made  them  enduring  and  courageous, 
and  hardy  as  a  pair  of  little  Indians.  For  six 
months,  this  had  been  their  life,  and  by  this  time 
there  had  formed  one  well-recognized  set  whose 
members  were  constantly  together,  and,  though 
they  mingled  more  or  less  with  the  other  young 
people,  yet  kept  themselves  distinct  from  their 
companions.  Four  of  this  number  were  the  little 
group  of  skaters,  the  fifth  was  Ned's  younger 
brother,  Grant,  who  was  usually  the  central  figure 
in  their  frolics. 

The  one  other  member  of  the  Burnam  house 
hold,  who  is  as  yet  in  the  background,  deserves  at 
least  a  passing  remark.  This  was  Janey,  the 
young  negro  maid  who  ruled  their  kitchen.  What 


22  IN   BLUE    CREEK   CANON. 

had  ever  brought  her  from  the  warm  South  into 
the  midst  of  Rocky  Mountain  snows,  it  would  be 
hard  to  tell ;  but,  two  months  before,  she  had  an 
swered  to  Mrs.  Burnam's  advertisement  for  a 
servant,  and  was  promptly  installed  in  her  kitchen, 
where  she  convulsed  the  family  with  her  pranks, 
and  averted  many  a  well-merited  lecture  by  some 
sudden,  artless  remark,- which  sent  Mrs.  Burnam 
hurrying  out  of  the  room,  in  search  of  a  corner 
where  she  could  laugh  unseen.  Surely,  since  the 
days  of  Topsy,  the  immortal,  there  was  never  such 
an  imp  as  Janey.  Mrs.  Burnam  declared  that  she 
was  as  good  as  a  tonic,  and  Mr.  Burnam  made  no 
secret  of  his  enjoyment  of  her  antics,  which  were 
always  as  original  as  they  were  unexpected. 

"My  name's  Edmonia  Jackson,"  she  had  said, 
in  answer  to  Mrs.  Burnam's  question;  "but  dey 
mos'ly  calls  me  Janey.  But  laws,  Mis',  ef  you  '11 
on'y  let  me  stay  yere,  you  all  can  call  me  what 
you  want.  Names  is  nothin',  but  I  don'  want  to 
work  in  one  o'  them  log-cabins ;  they  's  too  much 
like  what  our  po'  w  'ites  lives  in.  Give  me  brick 
or  nothin' !  " 


CHAPTER   II. 

TO   WELCOME   THE    COMING   GUEST. 

"  ONLY  ten  minutes  more  !  "  said  Allie,  ex 
citedly  prancing  up  and  down  the  platform.  "  I 
do  so  hope  the  train  won't  be  late." 

"  Allie  's  getting  in  a  hurry  to^  see  the  cousin," 
remarked  Grant  Everett  teasingly.  "  You  and 
Howard  '11  have  to  step  out  of  the  way  when  he 
comes,  Ned.  You  needn't  think  you  're  going  to 
stand  any  chance  against  this  new  attraction." 

"  Maybe  so,"  said  Howard  scornfully,  while  he 
flattened  his  nose  against  the  ticket-office  window, 
in  a  vain  endeavor  to  see  the  clock.  "  Girls  always 
like  a  new  face,  and  Allie  's  just  like  all  the  rest 
of  them." 

"  No,"  said  Allie  judicially,  as  she  pulled  the 
collar  of  her  fur  jacket  more  closely  about  her 
ears.  "  Of  course  I  like  you  boys  best,  but  I  'm 
sort  of  curious  about  Charlie,  as  long  as  he  's  go 
ing  to  live  with  us  for  a  year  or  so.  If  he  's  nice, 
it  will  be  like  having  another  brother;  but  if  he  's 
horrid,  it  will  spoil  all  our  good  times.  It's  a  very 

23 


24  IN   BLUE   CREKK    CANON. 

dependable    circumstance,    as    Jancy    says,  that's 
all." 

It  was  the  second  morning  after  their  skating 
party,  and  Ploward,  Allie,  and  the  two  Everett 
boys  were  pacing  up  and  down  the  platform, 
while  they  waited  for  the  coming  of  the  train 
which  should  bring  them  their  new  companion. 
They  formed  an  attractive  little  group  as  they 
moved  to  and  fro,  talking  and  laughing,  or  paus 
ing  now  and  again  to  turn  and  gaze  down  the 
track,  which  stretched  far  away  before  them  in 
two  shining  rows  of  steel.  With  the  instinct  of 
the  true  hostess,  Allie  had  arrayed  herself  in  her 
state  and  festival  suit,  and  sallied  forth  to  meet 
her  father  and  cousin,  and  extend  to  their  guest  a 
prompt  welcome  to  his  new  home.  Half-way  to 
the  station  she  was  surprised  at  being  overtaken 
by  the  three  boys,  who  came  rushing  after  her, 
shouting  her  name  as  they  ran. 

"'  Where  are  you  going,  my  pretty  maid?" 
panted  Ned,  dropping  into  step  at  one  side,  while 
Howard  took  the  other,  and  Grant  capered  along 
the  sidewalk  in  front  of  them,  now  backwards, 
now  sideways,  and  now  forwards,  as  the  conversa 
tion  demanded  his  entire  attention,  or  became 


TO    WELCOME   THE   COMING   GUEST.  25 

"  '  I  'm  going  to  meet  Cousin  Charlie,  she  said/  " 
answered  Allie,  laughing. 

"  So  that 's  the  why  of  all  these  fine  feathers," 
commented  Ned  ;  while  Howard  added,  — 

"  All  right ;   we  '11  go  with  you." 

"  But  I  thought  you  just  told  mamma  that  you 
wouldn't  go,  anyway,"  responded  Allie,  astonished 
at  this  sudden  change  of  plan. 

"  Well,  I  'm  here,"  answered  Howard  calmly. 
"  I  'm  not  going  to  welcome  him  with  open  arms, 
though  ;  and  you  need  n't  think  I  am.  We  fellows 
are  just  going  to  take  a  look  at  him  on  the  sly, 
and  then  we  can  tell  better  how  to  treat  him." 

"  But,  Howard,  you  mustn't ;  he  '11  see  you," 
remonstrated  Allie,  scandalized  at  the  suggestion. 
"  If  papa  knows  it  he  won't  like  it  a  bit." 

"Oh,  that's  all  right,  Allie,  said  Ned  reassur 
ingly.  "  All  we  're  going  to  do  is  to  hide  behind 
that  pile  of  freight  boxes  over  there,  and  get  a 
good  look  at  him  without  his  knowing  it.  Then 
we  '11  light  out  for  home,  and  Howard  will  be  there 
ahead  of  you,  see  if  he  isn't;  so,  if  you  don't  give 
it  away,  there  '11  be  no  harm  done." 

"  Unless  you  tell  of  it  yourselves,"  said  Allie 
doubtfully.  "I  don't  half  like  it;  and  if  Howard 
won't  help  meet  him,  he  ought  to  keep  clear  out 


26  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

of  the  way.  But  there  's  one  thing  about  it,  boys, 
you  must,  you  really  must,  stop  talking  so  much 
slang.  It's  bad  enough  with  us  girls,  and  I'm 
getting  to  use  it  as  much  as  you  do ;  but  you  '11 
scare  Charlie  to  pieces  if  you  talk  so  much  of  it." 

"  Does  our  right  worshipful  brother  maintain 
himself  in  his  usual  health  and  spirits? — is  that 
the  style,  Allie?"  asked  Howard,  as  he  took  off 
his  cap  with  a  flourish,  and  bowed  low  before  some 
imaginary  personage. 

"I  caught  Allie  studying  the  dictionary,  yester 
day  morning,"  said  Grant,  turning  to  face  them 
once  more.  "  She  had  a  piece  of  paper  in  her 
lap,  with  concatenation  and  peripatetic  and  nos 
talgia  written  on  it,  and  I  supposed  she  was 
studying  her  spelling  lesson,  but  now  I  see,  — she 
was  just  making  up  a  sentence  to  say  to  him. 
Speak  up  loud,  Allie,  so  we  can  hear." 

"  You  'd  better  stay  here  and  listen,"  said  Allie. 
"But  there's  the  train,  see,  just  coming  round 
the  curve  down  the  canon.  Off  with  you,  if  you 
really  are  going  to  be  so  silly !  " 

The  boys  whirled  around  hastily,  to  assure  them 
selves  that  it  was  no  false  alarm;  then  they  left 
her  to  wait  alone,  while  they  settled  themselves 
behind  a  pile  of  great  wooden  boxes  which  half 


TO   WELCOME   THE   COMING   GUEST.  2? 

filled  the  upper  end  of  the  platform.  Allic 
watched  them  arrange  themselves  at  their  ease ; 
then,  when  they  were  quite  hidden  from  view,  she 
turned  back  to  look  at  the  train  as  it  rushed  up 
the  valley  towards  her,  sending  along  the  rails 
before  it  a  fierce  throbbing  which  kept  time  to 
her  own  leaping  pulse. 

In  spite  of  her  light  talk  and  laughter,  Allie 
was  conscious  of  a  keen  sense  of  excitement,  as 
she  stood  waiting  to  receive  her  cousin.  He  was 
the  only  child  of  Mrs.  Burnam's  only  brother; 
and  now,  at  thirteen,  he  was  left  alone  in  the 
world,  doubly  orphaned,  and  with  no  near  rela 
tives  save  this  one  aunt,  to  whose  care  his 
dying  mother  had  intrusted  her  boy.  All  that 
Allie  knew  had  only  served  to  interest  her  in  the 
young  stranger ;  his  love  for  music  and  his  unusual 
talent  for  it,  his  former  life  spent  in  a  luxurious 
city  home,  even  his  present  loneliness  had  touched 
her  girlish  heart  with  pity,  and  made  her  resolve 
to  render  his  new  life  pleasant  to  him,  in  spite  of 
the  possible  teasing  he  might  have  to  undergo  from 
the  boys.  And  then,  while  she  was  determined  to 
become  his  champion  at  any  cost,  there  was  always 
the  delightful  possibility  that  he  might  be  a  pleas 
ant  addition  to  their  little  circle,  and  contribute 
his  share  to  the  frolics  which  were  continually 


28  IN  BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

taking  place  at  cither  the  Burnams'  or  the  Everetts*. 
Far  into  the  hours  of  the  previous  night  she  had 
lain  awake,  picturing  her  cousin  as  he  would  prob 
ably  appear  to  them,  and  going  over  and  over  in 
her  own  mind  the  details  of  their  first  meeting. 
She  was  sorry  that  he  had  lost  his  mother ;  but 
she  found  herself  fervently  hoping  that  he  would 
not  be  so  very  dismal,  and  even  that  he  might 
laugh  a  little  occasionally,  when  anything  particu 
larly  amusing  should  occur. 

"  Well,  daught,  how  goes  it?  "  And  Allie  found 
herself  in  her  father's  arms,  and  then  released,  as 
Mr.  Burnam  added,  "  Here,  Charlie,  this  is  your 
Cousin  Alice." 

With  a  sudden  shyness,  Allie  put  her  hand  into 
the  one  before  her,  as  she  glanced  up  at  the  boy 
ish  face  which  was  looking  down  into  her  own. 
Something  she  read  there,  in  the  half-anxious  ex 
pression  of  the  brown  eyes,  made  her  forget  her 
more  formal  salutation,  and  say  cordially,  — 

"  Are  you  the  new  brother  that 's  come  to  live 
at  our  house?  It's  going  to  be  splendid  to  have 
you  there."  And  with  a  little  confiding,  sisterly 
gesture,  she  pulled  his  hand  through  her  arm,  in 
an  unspoken  welcome  which  was  inexpressibly 
grateful  to  the  lad,  tired  with  his  three  thousand 


TO   WELCOME  THE    COMING   GUEST.  2Q 

miles  of  lonely  journeying,  and  dreading  to  meet 
these  strange  cousins  into  whose  home  life  he 
had  been  so  abruptly  forced.  Now,  as  he  looked 
at  Allie's  slight,  girlish  figure,  and  at  her  bright, 
happy  face  which  not  even  her  irregular  features 
could  render  plain,  he  felt  a  sudden  sense  of  relief, 
and  secretly  wished  that  all  the  family  might  be 
as  attractive  as  his  genial  uncle  and  the  pleasant 
cousin  who  had  given  him  so  sisterly  a  greeting. 

"  Come,"  she  added,  as  her  father  beckoned  to 
them  ;  "  we  '11  go  over  and  get  into  that  carriage, 
while  papa  hunts  up  your  trunks."  And  she  led 
the  way  across  the  platform  with  an  apparent  un 
consciousness  of  the  three  heads  which  precipi 
tately  bobbed  down  out  of  sight  at  their  approach, 
while  the  owners  of  the  heads  coiled  themselves 
up  in  the  narrowest  of  corners,  with  much  scrap 
ing  of  shoes  on  the  boards,  in  the  process. 

"  This  old  station  is  just  full  of  rats,"  she  con 
tinued,  in  a  tone  of  careless  explanation,  as  they 
passed  the  hiding-place  of  her  brother  and  his 
friends.  "  I  heard  the  ticket-man  say,  just  before 
your  train  came  in,  that  he  was  coming  out  with 
his  gun  to  shoot  some  of  them,  as  soon  as  the 
engine  had  backed  down  out  of  the  way." 

A  long-drawn  squeak,  as  of  an  animal  in  pain, 


3O  IN   BLUE    CREEK   CANON. 

answered  to  her  words,  and  they  went  on,  while 
Allie  threw  one  triumphant  glance  over  her  shoul 
der  at  the  three  heads  which  had  promptly  reap 
peared  as  soon  as  her  back  was  turned. 

Once  seated  opposite  her  cousin  in  the  car 
riage,  while  they  waited  for  Mr.  Burnam  to  join 
them,  Allie  could  study  his  face  at  her  ease,  as  she 
chattered  away  to  him,  in  the  hope  of  making  him 
feel  at  home.  He  had  attracted  her  at  the  first 
glance ;  and  the  more  she  looked  at  him  the 
stronger  became  her  impression  that  here  was  a 
cousin  worth  having.  He  was  large  of  his  age, 
finely  formed,  and  taller  than  Howard,  and  had  a 
frank,  boyish  face,  which  just  now  looked  a  little 
tired  after  his  long  journey,  and  a  little  troubled  and 
nervous  at  coming  among  new  friends.  For  the 
rest,  he  had  a  mass  of  soft,  reddish-brown  hair,  a 
freckled  face,  firm  red  lips  which  parted,  now  and 
then,  to  show  two  rows  of  small,  even  teeth,  and 
two  deep  dimples  that  came  and  went  in  his  cheeks, 
and  a  pair  of  near-sighted  brown  eyes  that  looked 
very  steadily  into  Allie's,  as  if  trying  to  read  his 
n£w  kinswoman,  and  find  out  from  her  into  what 
hands  he  was  likely  to  fall. 

And,  indeed,  he  would  have  looked  far  that 
day  without  finding  a  more  attractive  cousin,  for 


TO   WELCOME  THE   COMING   GUEST.  31 

Allie,  in  her  desire  to  play  the  hostess  well,  had 
dropped  her  usual  rollicking  manner,  and  assumed 
a  sweet,  childish  dignity  which  became  her  as  well 
as  her  more  wonted  gayety.  Charlie's  face  cleared 
a  little,  as  he  looked  into  her  great  blue  eyes  and 
watched  the  changing  expressions  of  her  fresh 
young  face,  so  pretty  and  bright  in  its  soft,  warrr 
setting  of  fur. 

"Why  didn't  Howard  come  down  with  you, 
daught?"  asked  Mr.  Burnam,  as  he  took  his  place 
beside  them,  and  the  carriage,  turning  from  the 
station,  drove  away  up  the  street  towards  the 
house. 

For  an  instant,  Allie's  gaze  was  fixed  on  a  dis 
tant  opening  between  the  buildings,  where  three 
boyish  figures  were  scurrying  along  as  fast  as  their 
feet  could  carry  them.  Then  she  roused  herself, 
and  turned  to  the  lad  before  her,  as  if  she  had 
not  heard  her  father's  question. 

"  Didn't  you  have  a  good  time  on  the  way  out 
here,  Cousin  Charlie5"  she  inquired  hastily. 
"  Howard  and  I  have  been  envying  you  your 
journey." 

"  Can't  say  I  enjoyed  it,"  Charlie  answered. 
"  I  'd  never  even  travelled  all  night  before,  and  it 
was  no  end  lonesome,  riding  along,  day  in  and 


3-2  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

day  out,  without  a  soul  to  speak  to.  An  old 
friend  of  mother's  met  me  in  Chicago,  and  put 
me  on  the  train  for  Council  Bluffs,  and  'twas 
easy  enough  changing  there,  so  I  didn't  have  any 
trouble ;  but  you  'd  better  believe  I  was  glad  to 
see  Uncle  Ralph  when  he  walked  into  the  sleeper 
yesterday  afternoon." 

"  I  believe  I  'd  be  willing  to  go  round  the  world 
alone,  if  I  could  only  go,"  said  Allie.  "  I  'm  a 
real  railroad  man's  daughter,  and  like  to  travel ; 
don't  I,  poppy?  "  And  she  nestled  closer  to  her 
father's  side,  while  with  amused  eyes  she  watched 
their  guest's  expression  change,  first  to  astonish 
ment,  then  to  disgust,  as  he  looked  at  the  main 
street,  with  its  low  buildings,  some  few  of  brick, 
little  one-story  structures,  whose  fronts  were  run  up 
in  a  thin,  flat  wall,  with  sham  window  blinds  at  a 
second-story  level,  to  present  the  appearance  of 
more  pretentious  buildings. 

Fresh  as  he  was  from  the  closely-packed  streets  of 
the  great  city,  with  their  unbroken  rows  of  towering 
business  blocks  and  apartment  houses,  Charlie  was 
conscious  of  vague  wonder  at  the  rough  little  mining 
camp  before  him.  Then  he  turned  and  looked  up  at 
the  mountain,  and,  boy  that  he  was,  he  forgot  all 
else,  all  the  crudcness  of  the  buildings  and  all  the 


TO   WELCOME  THE   COMING   GUEST.  33 

roughness  of  the  surroundings,  as  he  saw  the 
full  grandeur  of  the  snow-clad  Rockies  shining  and 
glistening  in  the  morning  sunshine,  which  lay  ca 
ressingly  over  their  giants  lopes.  He  bent  forward 
to  look  at  them  once  more,  while  his  face  grew  very 
thoughtful  and  intent ;  then  he  dropped  back  into 
his  old  corner,  saying,  in  an  awed,  hushed  tone,  as 
if  to  himself,  — 

"  Jove  !  It 's  worth  it  all,  to  have  a  chance  to 
look  at  those." 

"  I  'm  glad  you  like  them,"  said  Allie  heartily, 
though  she  smiled  at  his  "  Jove,"  when  she  recalled 
her  recent  charge  to  Howard  to  avoid  all  slang. 
"  The  town  must  seem  queer  to  you  ;  but  the  moun 
tains  make  up  for  it.  Now  lean  'way  forward, 
and  look  out  this  side.  That  little  brick  house  is 
ours ;  and  there  's  mamma  in  the  door,  and  How 
ard  just  back  of  her,  waiting  to  give  you  greeting." 

"  Now,  honestly,  Allie,  how  did  you  like  him?" 
Howard  asked,  as  soon  as  his  mother  had  taken 
Charlie  to  his  room  and  the  door  closed  behind 
them. 

"  I  think  I  do  like  him,"  said  Allie  slowly.  "  He 
didn't  talk  much  coming  up  ;  but  I  don't  know  as 
I  wonder,  when  we  're  all  strangers  to  him.  He 
has  sort  of  a  good  face ;  of  course  he  isn't  hand- 


34  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

some,  like  Ned  and  Grant,  but  he  looks  as  if  he  'd 
have  some  fun  in  him." 

"  I  shouldn't  think  he  did  look  like  Ned,"  re 
turned  Howard  disdainfully;  "  you  don't  often 
see  anybody  that  does.  This  fellow  has  red  hair, 
too,  and  I  don't  like  that  kind.  He 's  dressed 
himself  up  regardless,  in  his  derby  hat  and  long- 
tailed  ulster.  Does  he  wear  knickerbockers,  Allie, 
or  does  he  think  he  's  too  old  for  them?  " 

"  How  should  I  know  ?  "  answered  Allie.  "  He 's 
pretty  long,  and  I  began  at  the  top,  so  I  didn't 
get  down  so  far;  but  when  we  are  used  to  his 
freckles  and  his  glasses,  I  don't  think  he  '11  seem 
so  bad  to  us." 

"  You  almost  gave  us  away,  with  your  rat 
speech,"  said  Howard,  laughing  at  the  recollec 
tion.  "  Grant  giggled  till  I  was  afraid  Charlie  'd 
hear  him,  so  I  squeaked  to  cover  up  the  noise. 
You  had  us  cornered  there ;  and  I  didn't  want 
to  get  caught,  for  I  knew  mammy  wouldn't  like  it. 
She 's  been  so  anxious  to  have  Charlie  get  here 
and  have  a  good  time  with  us,  that  I  didn't  want 
to  spoil  it  all." 

"  How  long  have  you  been  home?"  asked  his 
sister,  as  she  turned  away  to  go  to  her  room  and 
take  off  her  jacket  and  hat. 


TO   WELCOME  THE   COMING   GUEST.  35 

"  I  had  just  time  to  drop  off  my  coat,  as  I  came 
in  through  the  kitchen,  and  get  to  the  front  door, 
when  you  turned  the  corner.  I  believe  mammy 
has  spent  the  last  hour  between  the  door  and  win 
dow.  I  wonder  what  they  're  doing  in  there ;  I 
wish  they  'd  hurry  up,  for  I  want  some  lunch. 
Charlie  ought  to  be  hungry,  too,  for  he  had  break 
fast  at  Argenta.  Remember  those  elk  steaks  we 
had  there  last  fall,  sis?  " 

Allie  made  a  wry  face  at  the  memory. 

"  Poor  Charlie  !  He  will  think  he  's  come  into 
the  wilderness.  You  should  have  seen  his  face, 
Howard,  when  we  were  driving  up  Main  Street. 
It  was  too  funny ;  he  looked  as  if  he  did  n't  know 
whether  to  laugh  or  cry.  He  stood  it  very  well 
till  he  came  to  the  office ;  then  that  green  sham 
front  was  too  much  for  him,  and  he  fairly  groaned." 

"  I  '11  tell  you  what,"  Howard  counselled  her ; 
"  caja'tyou  get  hold  of  him,  and  tell  him  about  some 
of  the  ways  we  have  out  here,  and  get  him  used 
to  it,  so  he  won't  show  just  what  he  thinks  of  us? 
Girls  can  do  that  sort  of  thing  better  than  boys, 
and  he  '11  need  some  coaching,  of  course.  Just 
pussy-cat  him  a  little  ;  and  then  he  looks  as  if  he  'd 
take  any  amount  of  advice.  I  don't  care,  for  you 
and  me ;  but  the  Everetts  won't  stand  anything 


36  IN  BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

of  that  kind.  They  Ve  been  here  ever  since  the 
town  started,  and  they  think  it 's  the  only  place 
in  the  world." 

"Tis  one  of  the  best,"  said  Allie  decisively. 
"  Of  course,  'tisn't  pretty,  nor  very  fine ;  but  I  Ve 
had  the  best  times  since  I  came  here  I  ever  had, 
and  I  'm  not  going  to  have  anybody  run  it  down 
when  I  'm  round.  I  '11  give  him  a  talking-to  this 
very  night.  Now,  let's  just  come  out  and  take 
one  race  to  the  corner  and  back ;  I  Ve  been 
proper  as  long  as  I  can,  and  I  must  do  something 
to  let  off  steam.  He 's  all  out  of  the  way  and 
won't  see  me.  Come  on  !  "  And  away  they  went, 
racing  down  the  street  in  the  warm  noon  sun. 

After  his  quiet  talk  with  his  aunt,  who  had  gone 
with  him  to  lead  the  way  to  his  room,  Charlie  no 
longer  felt  any  doubt  of  his  welcome.  Mrs.  Bur- 
nam  was  so  like  his  father  in  her  manner,  so  bright 
and  brisk,  yet  so  gentle,  that  her  nephew  felt  at 
ease  with  her  at  once.  There  had  been  something 
indescribably  motherly  in  her  face,  as  she  sat  down 
on  the  edge  of  the  bed,  and,  taking  his  hand, 
drew  him  down  at  her  side,  while  she  questioned 
him  about  his  journey,  and  the  friends  he  had  left 
behind  him.  Then  she  spoke  of  his  mother  so 
tenderly  that  the  boy's  lips  quivered,  and  two 


TO   WELCOME  THE   COMING    GUEST.  37 

great  tears  rolled  down  his  cheeks.  That  was 
more  than  Mrs.  Burnam's  warm  heart  could  bear. 
For  a  moment  she  let  his  fresh  sorrow  have  its 
way;  then  she  bent  forward  and  put  her  arm 
around  him,  just  as  she  might  have  done  with 
Howard. 

"  I  know,  Charlie,"  she  said  gently,  "  nobody 
else  can  take  her  place ;  but,  while  you  are  with 
us,  remember  that  you  are  our  own  boy,  and  are 
as  much  at  home  with  us  as  Howard  himself.  And 
now  come,  if  you  're  ready,  and  get  acquainted 
with  your  cousins,  while  I  see  about  the  lunch." 

As  Charlie  went  back  to  the  parlor  once  more, 
he  was  surprised  to  find  the  room  deserted  and 
the  front  door  slightly  open.  With  a  little  shiver 
of  cold  and  loneliness,  he  stepped  across  the  room 
to  close  the  door,  and  stood  still,  to  gaze  in  aston 
ishment  at  the  sight  before  him.  Up  the  middle 
of  the  road  came  two  figures,  evidently  engaged 
in  some  mad  race.  The  boy  he  recognized  at 
once  as  being  his  Cousin  Howard  ;  but  who  was  the 
small  Amazon  who  rushed  along  at  his  side,  bare 
headed  and  with  her  short,  thick  hair  flying  in  the 
wind,  as  she  easily  kept  pace  with  the  longer 
strides  of  her  brother?  Surely,  this  could  not  be 
Allie,  the  demure  little  maid  who  had  met  him 


38  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

with  such  easy,  quiet  grace  !  Charlie  knew  little 
of  girls  and  their  ways ;  but  he  had  always  looked 
upon  them  with  a  certain  distrust,  as  being  all- 
absorbed  in  their  fine  clothes  and  their  prim  de 
portment.  The  few  he  had  known  in  New  York 
had  done  nothing  to  alter  his  opinion,  and  it  had 
never  before  occurred  to  him  as  a  possibility  that 
a  young  girl  could  romp  and  run,  and  enjoy  the 
free,  out-of-door  life  which  is  the  rightful  privilege 
of  every  healthy  child.  This  new  revelation  was 
quite  to  his  liking,  and  his  astonishment  gave  place 
to  interest  and  then  to  delight,  as  Allie  gradually 
outstripped  her  brother,  and  came  flying  up  the 
steps  far  in  advance  of  him,  with  a  triumphant 
shout  of  laughter,  just  as  her  cousin  appeared  in 
the  open  doorway,  loudly  applauding  her  victory. 
Early  that  evening  Allie  and  her  cousin  were 
alone  in  the  parlor,  for  Mrs.  Burnam  was  putting 
Victor  to  bed,  Mr.  Burnam  had  gone  down  to  his 
office  for  an  hour,  and  Howard  had  gone  out  on 
an  errand  with  the  Everett  boys.  The  afternoon 
had  been  devoted  to  helping  Charlie  to  unpack 
and  settle  himself  in  his  new  quarters ;  and  over 
this  informal  occupation  their  acquaintance  had 
made  rapid  strides,  so  it  was  with  a  sense  of  duty 
well-performed  that  Allie  curled  herself  up  in  the 


TO   WELCOME   THE   COMING   GUEST.  39 

great  easy-chair  before  the  pine  knots  blazing  on 
the  andirons,  and  turned  to  look  at  the  boy,  pacing 
up  and  down  the  room.  Divested  of  his  long 
ulster,  which  had  called  forth  Howard's  criticism, 
her  cousin  stood  before  her,  dressed,  like  many 
another  boy,  in  the  light  brown  suit  of  the  period, 
but  with  a  grace  of  position  and  pride  of  car 
riage  which  had  made  him  a  noticeable  lad,  even 
in  the  great  city  school,  where  he  had  only  been 
one  of  scores  of  well-dressed,  well-trained  boys. 
Allie  studied  him  for  a  moment  in  silence ;  then 
she  gave  a  little  contented  nod  to  herself,  as  she 
said  interrogatively,  — 

"Well,  Charlie?" 

"Well?"  he  responded,  as  he  came  to  a  halt  at 
her  chair,  and,  folding  his  arms  on  the  back,  stood 
looking  down  at  her  while  she  raised  her  face  to  his. 

"What  were  you  thinking  about?"  she  de 
manded.  "Were  you  homesick  or  tired,  that 
made  you  look  so  sober?  " 

"  I  was  thinking  about  New  York,"  he  answered 
candidly;  "wondering  about  some  of  the  fellows 
in  our  school.  They  were  a  jolly  set,  and  I  'd 
like  to  see  them  ;  but  I  'm  not  homesick  a  bit.  I 
think  I  'm  going  to  like  it  here,  when  I  get  used 
to  it." 


40  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

"  I  suppose  it  does  seem  very  strange  to  you," 
mused  Allie,  as  if  to  herself,  while  she  watched 
the  face  above  her,  looking  so  thoughtful  in  the 
flickering  light.  Then  she  added  abruptly,  "  Come 
round  where  I  can  talk  to  you,  Charlie ;  I  Ve  some 
thing  very  important  to  say  to  you." 

"  Yes,  ma'am,"  he  answered,  but  without  stir 
ring  from  his  place. 

"  Come,"  she  insisted,  patting  the  broad  arm  of 
her  chair  with  an  inviting  gesture.  "  I  want  to  give 
you  your  first  lesson  in  Western  life ;  and  I  can't 
talk  to  you  half  so  well,  when  you  're  just  back  of 
me.  If  I  can't  watch  you,  I  sha'n't  know  when 
you  're  getting  vexed  and  wishing  I  'd  stop." 

"All  right;  fire  ahead."  And  Charlie  moved 
around  to  her  side,  where  he  clasped  his  hands  and 
brought  his  spectacles  to  bear  upon  her  with  an 
owlish  solemnity. 

"That's  a  very  good  boy,"  said  his  cousin 
approvingly.  Then  she  continued,  in  a  tone  of 
elderly  counsel,  "  Now,  my  dear  child,  I  am 
about  to  say  a  few  words  to  you  which  shall  be  for 
your  own  good." 

"  Oh,  I  say,"  remonstrated  Charlie,  his  dignity 
breaking  down  all  at  once ;  "  how  old  are  you, 
Allie,  —  sixty,  or  seventy-five  ?  " 


TO   WELCOME  THE  COMING   GUEST.  41 

"  You  shouldn't  laugh,"  returned  Allie,  shaking 
her  head  at  him  reproachfully.  "  That's  just  the 
way  Mrs.  Pennypoker  talks  to  Ned  and  Grant; 
I  've  heard  her,  lots  of  times.  But  now,  truly,  I 
wish  you  'd  be  good  and  listen  to  me,  for  I  do 
want  to  tell  you  something  that  will  be  a  help  to 
you.  The  people  out  here  are  different  from  those 
you  Ve  seen,  and  the  ways  aren't  like  those  farther 
east.  I  don't  know  why  'tis,  but  they  hate  to  be 
reminded  of  it,  and,  when  we  came  here,  papa  told 
us  never  to  say  anything  bad  about  the  town,  as  if 
we  didn't  like  it,  for  we  'd  get  everybody  down  on 
us.  We  did  like  it,  though,  so  we  did  n't  have  to 
fib.  But  now  you  're  here  you  'd  better  just  keep 
still  about  anything  that  strikes  you  funny,  when 
you  're  off  with  the  boys.  Then  you  can  come 
back  and  talk  it  over  with  me,  when  they  aren't 
round,  if  you  want  to ;  I  don't  mind ;  only  don't 
let  Howard  hear  you,  for  he  'd  tell  the  Everetts. 
Sec  ?  That 's  all ;  but  I  thought  I  'd  warn  you." 

"  You  're  a  trump,  Allie  ;  and  I  '11  try  not  to  dis 
grace  you,"  said  Charlie  gratefully.  "  Of  course, 
it  seems  awfully  queer  to  me ;  but  I  won't  give  it 
away,  if  I  can  help  it.  What's  the  matter  now?" 
he  demanded,  as  Allie  leaned  back  in  her  chair 
and  burst  into  a  peal  of  laughter. 


42  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

"I  was  just  thinking  how  funny  'twas,"  she 
answered;  "  only  this  morning  I  was  telling  the 
boys  that  their  slang  \vould  shock  you,  and  they 
must  drop  it ;  but  here  you  are,  every  bit  as  bad  as 
they.  I  don't  believe  there  's  so  much  difference 
between  Montana  and  New  York,  after  all." 

"  Tisn't  the  place,  it's  boys,"  responded 
Charlie  sagely.  "  They  're  pretty  much  the  same, 
wherever  you  take  them.  I  think  the  difference  is 
in  the  girls,  and,  if  you  please,  I  believe  I  prefer 
the  Western  ones." 

Allie  flushed  rosy  red  at  the  unexpected  compli 
ment,  but  before  she  had  time  to  enjoy  it,  or  to 
reply,  there  came  a  sudden  knock  at  the  dining- 
room  door,  and  Janey's  black  face  peered  in  at  the 
crack. 

"  Miss  Allie,  honey,"  she  said  in  a  wheedling 
tone,  as  she  rolled  up  her  great  eyes  at  her  little 
mistress,  "  cyarn  you  get  time  to  write  a  letter  for 
me,  bymeby  ?  " 

"  I  '11  come  out  as  soon  as  Mr.  Howard  gets 
home,  Janey,"  she  answered ;  then,  as  the  head 
vanished  and  the  door  closed,  she  added  to  her 
cousin,  "  Janey  can't  read  nor  write,  so  I  have  to 
do  all  her  letters  for  her.  She  's  engaged  to  marry 
a  man  in  Washington,  and  she  says  he  's  '  in  de 


TO   WELCOME  THE   COMING   GUEST.  43 

guv'ment.'  His  name  is  Hamilton  Lincoln  Corn- 
wallis ;  but  he  lives  at  number  seven  and  a  half 
Goat  Alley,  so  I  don't  believe  he  's  President  yet. 
You  've  no  idea  how  funny  his  letters  are.  Maybe 
she  '11  get  you  to  read  one,  some  day." 


CHAPTER   III. 

THE   EVERETT   HOUSEHOLD. 

MRS.  EUPHEMIA  PENNYPOKER  belonged  to  that 
unpleasant  type  of  individuals  whose  members, 
for  lack  of  specific  excellence,  are  commonly 
spoken  of  by  their  friends  as  "  thoroughly  estima 
ble  women."  She  possessed  all  the  virtues,  but 
none  of  the  graces  which  make  virtue  attractive  to 
the  youthful  mind ;  and  she  regulated  her  daily 
life  by  a  cast-iron  code  that  was  as  unvarying 
and  heartless  as  the  smile  which  sixty  years  of 
habit  had  stamped  upon  her  thin,  bloodless  lips. 
Mrs.  Pennypoker  was  said  to  have  been  hand 
some  in  her  day,  handsome  with  an  austere,  cold 
beauty ;  but  her  day  was  long  past,  and  the  only 
remaining  trace  of  her  good  looks  lay  in  her 
piercing  gray  eyes,  and  her  long,  straight  Greek 
nose.  The  eyes  were  undimmed  by  time  ;  but  the 
crow's-feet  had  gathered  thick  about  them,  and  the 
Greek  nose  was  surmounted  by  a  pair  of  large, 
round  eye-glasses,  which  only  served  to  intensify 
the  sternness  of  the  eyes  behind  them.  To  the 
44 


THE  EVERETT   HOUSEHOLD.  45 

children  around  her,  there  was  something  awe- 
inspiring  in  those  eye-glasses,  and  in  the  broad 
black  ribbon  which  held  them  suspended  about 
her  neck.  In  times  of  peace,  they  had  the  appear 
ance  of  being  on  the  watch  for  some  hidden  sin ; 
but  when  occasion  for  punishment  arose,  there  was 
something  positively  terrifying  in  their  glare,  and 
the  culprit  longed  for  his  last  hour  to  come,  that 
he  might  escape  from  their  power. 

Dame  Nature  had  been  in  a  generous  mood 
when  she  had  endowed  Mrs.  Pennypoker,  for  she 
had  given  her  a  massive  frame  and  constitution  of 
bronze,  which  made  her  thoroughly  intolerant  of 
those  unfortunates  who  were  not  similarly  blessed. 
But,  impressive  as  Mrs.  Pennypoker  was  in  most 
respects,  there  was  yet  one  undignified  peculiarity 
which  marred  the  otherwise  perfect  majesty  of  her 
appearance.  Like  Samson,  her  vulnerable  point 
lay  in  her  hair ;  or,  more  properly  speaking,  in  her 
lack  of  it.  The  ravages  of  time  had  removed  a 
part  of  her  dark  brown  locks,  and  left  an  oval  bald 
spot,  closely  resembling  the  tonsure  of  a  Romish 
priest.  This  defect  was  usually  covered  with  an 
elaborate  pile  of  braids  and  puffs ;  but  occasion 
ally  the  slippery  surface  of  her  bald  crown  and  the 
power  of  gravitation  proved  too  much  for  her 


46  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

hair-pins,  and  the  whole  structure  slipped  back 
ward,  to  reveal  a  shining  expanse  of  milk-white 
skin,  gleaming  forth  from  the  dark  tresses  sur 
rounding  it.  Moreover,  rumor  had  been  known 
to  whisper  that  there  was  something  peculiar  about 
the  rich  brown  hue  of  Mrs.  Pennypoker's  hair ; 
that  it  was  remarkable  for  a  person  of  her  age  to 
be  so  free  from  the  silver  threads  common  among 
far  younger  women;  and  that,  strangest  of  all, 
she  was  subject  to  periodical  variations  of  color, 
her  hair  turning  gray  at  the  ends  and  then  resum 
ing  its  original  tint,  while,  incredible  as  it  might 
seem,  the  change  always  appeared  at  the  ends 
nearest  her  scalp,  though  the  tips  of  her  hairs  re 
tained  all  their  wonted  lustre. 

Coming  from  far-away  New  England,  Mrs. 
Pennypoker  was  true  to  the  blood  of  her  Puritan 
ancestry.  She  had  in  her  composition  much  of 
the  stuff  of  which  martyrs  are  made.  She  could 
have  gone  to  the  stake  for  her  opinions ;  but  she 
could  just  as  cheerfully  have  turned  the  tables,  and 
piled  the  fagots  high  about  the  misguided  heretics 
who  ventured  to  disagree  with  her  own  peculiar 
doctrines.  Ever  on  the  alert  to  find  out  the  path 
of  duty  and  to  walk  in  it,  she  had  promptly  ac 
cepted  the  proposition  of  her  distant  cousin,  Mr. 


THE   EVERETT   HOUSEHOLD.  47 

Everett,  to  become  his  housekeeper,  after  the 
death  of  his  wife ;  and,  forsaking  all  her  old  asso 
ciations,  she  had  girded  herself  and  her  trunks, 
and,  with  her  parrot  as  her  sole  companion,  she 
had  retired  to  the  wilderness  to  subdue  the  drag 
ons  of  anarchy  and  chaos  which  had  probably 
entered  into  the  Everett  household. 

Her  first  dragon  proved  to  be  a  very  long-tailed 
one  ;  and  though  he  was  promptly  met,  he  was  by 
no  means  so  promptly  subdued.  An  hour  after 
her  arrival,  she  had  penetrated  to  the  kitchen, 
where  she  was  suddenly  confronted  byWangKum, 
the  shoe-button-eyed  Chinaman  who  had  been  in 
the  service  of  Mrs.  Everett  for  months  before  her 
death.  In  their  first  interview,  Mrs.  Penny- 
poker  was  ignominiously  routed  and  driven  from 
the  field,  for  Wang  Kum  ignored  her  stony  gaze, 
and  cheerfully  and  volubly  chattered  to  her  in  a 
torrent  of  Pidgin-English  which  left  her  no  oppor 
tunity  for  reply ;  so  she  withdrew,  resolving  that 
her  first  reform  should  be  the  removal  of  Wang 
from  office.  However,  on  this  question  Mr.  Ever 
ett  was  determined ;  Wang  Kum  had  been  their 
faithful  servant,  and  knew  the  ways  of  their  house 
hold  ;  moreover,  he  had  been  devoted  to  Mrs. 
Everett  during  her  last  illness,  and  in  that  kitchen 


48  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

Wang  Kum  should  stay.  Defeated  in  this  main 
object,  Mrs.  Pennypoker  next  devoted  herself  to 
the  task  of  civilization,  and  waged  daily  warfare 
with  the  Chinaman,  in  her  endeavors  to  convert 
him  to  American  ways  and  dress,  and  Calvinistic 
theology. 

"  Old  lady  heap  talkee ;  Wang  Kum  no  care," 
he  used  to  confide  to  Louise  Everett,  after  an  un 
usually  long  and  tedious  fray.  "  Wang  min'  Miss 
Lou  ;  old  lady  too  flesh." 

Four  years  before  this  time,  when  the  Blue 
Creek  copper  mine  was  opened  and  the  building 
of  the  great  smelter  had  brought  to  the  creek  the 
first  settlers  of  the  mining  camp,  Mr.  Everett  had 
been  made  superintendent  of  the  mine,  and  had 
brought  his  family  out  to  be  with  him.  Of  his 
three  children,  Louise  was  now  in  the  first  flush 
3f  young  womanhood,  a  pretty,  graceful  blonde  of 
twenty,  who  had  been  educated  in  an  Eastern 
school  until  the  sudden  death  of  her  mother  had 
called  her  home  to  take  charge  of  the  housekeep 
ing,  before  Mrs.  Pennypoker  appeared  upon  the 
scene,  to  relieve  her  of  the  care,  and  act  as  matron 
to  watch  over  her  young  cousin  with  an  eagle  eye. 
For  the  past  few  years,  Louise  had  been  away 
from  home  so  much  of  the  time  that  the  loss  of 


THE   EVERETT   HOUSEHOLD.  49 

her  mother  fell  less  heavily  upon  her  than  on  her 
young  brothers,  who  had  been  the  constant  com 
panions  of  the  bright,  pretty  little  woman  who 
had  devoted  her  life  to  theirs. 

Mrs.  Pennypoker  was  scarcely  the  person  to 
make  good  their  loss ;  and  Ned  and  Grant  would 
have  had  a  lonely  life,  had  it  not  been  for  motherly 
Mrs.  Burnam,  whose  heart  was  large  enough  to 
take  in  all  the  children  with  whom  she  came  in 
contact.  The  Everetts  were  likable  boys,  too,  just 
the  companions  she  would  have  chosen  for  Howard 
and  Allie :  gay  and  mischievous,  as  every  healthy 
boy  should  be,  but  with  the  high  sense  of  honor 
and  firm  principle  which  can  only  come  from  a 
good  mother  and  careful  home  training.  Ned,  the 
older  one,  at  thirteen  was  the  image  of  his  father, 
with  a  rich,  dark  beauty  which  made  him  a  striking 
contrast  to  Grant's  light  yellow  hair  and  pink  and 
white  cheeks.  Grant  was  his  mother's  own  boy,  in 
all  but  his  eyes,  which  were  like  his  father's,  large 
and  brown ;  and  he  had  received  his  mother's 
maiden  name,  just  as  he  had  received  the  features 
and  complexion  of  her  family. 

Of  all  the  members  of  the  Everett  household, 
Grant  was  the  only  one  who  felt  no  fear  of  Mrs. 
Pennypoker.  Even  his  father  was  far  more  in 


50  IN  BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

subjection    to    her    rule    than  was    his    little   son. 
Grant  had  been  the  first  to  discover  her  bald  spot 

—  which  he  promptly  christened  her  storm  centre 

—  and  to  call  Ned's  attention  to  it;   and  therein 
lay  much  of  his  power  over  her.     Now,  whenever 
Mrs.   Euphemia  threatened   to  get  the   better  of 
him,  he  had  only  to  fix  his  eyes  steadily  on  the 
top    of  her  head,    or   abstractedly  rub   his  hand 
over  his  own  yellow  pate,  to  cause  her  to  abandon 
her  lecture  and  escape  to  her  mirror,  in  order  to 
assure  herself  that  all  was  as  it  should  be. 

The  Everetts  lived  a  little  to  the  west  of  the 
Burnam's,  in  what  was  usually  spoken  of  as  "  one 
of  the  old  houses,"  to  distinguish  it  from  the  more 
modern  structures  of  brick  and  boards.  This  par 
ticular  old  house  was,  in  fact,  the  oldest  one  in  the 
camp,  for  it  had  been  built  by  the  superintendent 
for  his  family,  when  the  other  inhabitants  of  the 
place  were  still  living  in  tents  pitched  along  the 
edge  of  the  creek.  Like  most  of  the  other  houses 
of  the  town,  it  was  a  one-story  building,  low  and 
rambling,  with  odd  wings  and  projections,  which 
had  been  added  to  the  original  square  structure 
as  the  needs  of  the  family  demanded.  It  was 
built  of  rough-hewn  logs,  but  the  front  was  coated 
with  clapboards,  in  deference  to  the  prevailing 


THE   EVERETT   HOUSEHOLD.  51 

style  of  architecture,  which  literally  put  its  best 
foot  forward. 

Within,  the  walls  were  guiltless  of  lath  or  plas 
ter,  but  were  covered  with  strips  of  cotton  cloth, 
to  which  the  wall-paper  was  pasted.  At  certain 
seasons,  this  imparted  a  peculiar  effect  to  the 
rooms,  for,  in  the  fierce  winter  gales,  occasional 
breezes  would  work  their  way  through  the  cran 
nies  of  the  wall  and  cause  the  paper  and  its 
cloth  background  to  sway  backwards  and  forwards, 
to  the  horror  of  the  stranger  unused  to  such 
modes  of  finish,  since  the  sight  of  the  walls  sway 
ing  and  wriggling  before  his  eyes  could  only  be 
satisfactorily  explained  as  the  result  of  intoxica 
tion,  or  of  temporary  insanity.  The  same  stranger 
would  have  stopped  short  in  surprise,  on  entering 
the  Everetts'  clumsy  log-house.  In  spite  of  its 
unattractive  exterior,  it  was  a  cosy,  luxurious  dwell 
ing,  with  furniture,  draperies  and  pictures  which 
would  do  credit  to  any  Eastern  city  house ;  for 
Mrs.  Everett  had  loved  pretty  things,  and  had 
gathered  them  about  her  in  the  hope  of  making 
home  the  spot  most  enjoyable  for  her  children. 

The  Everetts  were  gathered  around  the  table 
for  their  late  dinner,  one  night  in  February,  soon 
after  Charlie's  arrival  in  Blue  Creek.  At  the  head 


52  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

of  the  table  sat  Mrs.  Pennypoker,  who  never 
appeared  so  majestic  as  when  she  was  presiding 
over  the  bountifully  spread  board,  for  Mrs.  Penny- 
poker  was  what  is  known  as  a  liberal  provider, 
and  had  a  lingering  fondness,  herself,  for  the  good 
things  of  this  earth.  To-night,  she  was  unusually 
benign,  for  Wang  Kum  had  outdone  himself,  and 
the  soup  was  the  perfection  of  flavoring,  the  roast 
done  to  a  turn ;  so  she  could  relax  her  anxious 
scrutiny  of  the  appointments  of  the  table,  and 
lend  an  ear  to  what  Mr.  Everett  was  saying  to  his 
daughter. 

"  Yes,  Mr.  Nelson  came  down  to  the  office  to 
see  me  to-day.  It  seems  he  's  been  talking  up  the 
matter  of  a  boy  choir,  and  he  wants  Ned  and 
Grant,  here,  to  sing  in  it.  He 's  going  to  have 
Howard,  and  he  's  heard  that  Charlie  sings ;  then 
there  are  about  a  dozen  little  German  fellows,  and 
some  men.  I  told  him  I  'd  no  objection,  and  I  'd 
ask  the  boys  what  they  thought." 

"  He  said  something  about  it  to  me,  after  ser 
vice  last  night,"  answered  Louise,  who  acted  as 
organist  at  the  little  Episcopal  chapel.  "  He  said 
he  wanted  to  get  his  plans  all  made  as  soon  as  he 
could,  so  we  could  go  to  work  on  the  vestments 
and  begin  training,  to  have  the  choir  ready  to  sing 


HIE   EVERETT   HOUSEHOLD.  53 

at  Easter.  I  told  him  that  both  the  boys  sang, 
but  I  didn't  know  what  you  Jd  say  to  it." 

"  I  'm  willing,"  Mr.  Everett  was  beginning,  when 
Mrs.  Pcnnypoker  interrupted  him. 

"  Do  you  mean,"  she  asked  with  icy  distinct 
ness,  as  she  leaned  forward  over  the  table  to  add 
emphasis  to  her  words,  "  that  you  are  going  to 
let  your  sons  sing  in  one  of  those  choirs  that  march 
into  church  with  their  night-gowns  on,  and  singsong 
the  answers  to  what  the  priest  says  ?  " 

"  Why,  yes,"  said  Mr.  Everett,  smiling  at  his 
cousin,  in  the  hope  of  calming  her  disgust.  "  Yes  ; 
that  is,  if  that's  what  you  call  it.  The  boys  both 
have  good  voices,  and  it  certainly  won't  hurt  them 
any,  for  Mr.  Nelson  knows  how  to  train  them 
well." 

"  Humph !  "  returned  Mrs.  Pcnnypoker  un 
compromisingly.  "It's  my  belief  that  they'd 
much  better  go  to  hear  good  old  Dr.  Hornblower, 
and  let  this  flummery  alone.  Your  Nelson  man  is 
no  better  than  a  papist,  with  his  colored  windows 
and  his  chants  and  all ;  and,  now  he  's  succeeded 
in  getting  his  new  chapel,  there  '11  be  no  stopping 
him." 

"  Just  watch  the  storm  centre,"  whispered  Grant 
to  his  brother,  as  Mrs.  Pennypokcr  ended  her 


:J4  IN   BLUE    CREEK    CANON. 

remark  with  an  expressive,  but  ill-advised  shake  of 
her  head.  "  It 's  coming  into  action  fast." 

"  I  am  glad  you  feel  satisfied  with  the  doctor," 
answered  Mr.  Everett,  looking  squarely  into  the 
face  of  his  irate  relative.  "  He  is  doubtless  a 
good  man ;  but  my  wife  was  a  member  of  Mr. 
Nelson's  church,  and  her  children  have  always 
been  accustomed  to  going  there,  so  I  think  they 
would  better  continue.  Another  thing  I  started 
to  tell  you,  Lou,"  he  went  on,  as  he  turned  to  his 
daughter  again,  "  I  hear  that,  at  last,  Blue  Creek 
is  to  have  a  new  doctor.  There  's  a  young  fellow 
from  one  of  the  Eastern  colleges  on  his  way 
out  here  to  settle.  The  Fullertons  know  him,  and 
say  he  's  a  brilliant  man.  It 's  about  time  we  had 
somebody,  for  since  old  Dr.  Meacham  died, 
nobody  's  dared  be  ill,  for  fear  they  'd  die  before  a 
doctor  could  get  over  from  Butte." 

"  And  when  this  one  comes,  we  're  all  going  to 
celebrate  by  being  ill ;  is  that  what  you  mean, 
papa?"  Louise  asked  playfully,  as  she  shook  her 
head  at  Grant,  who  was  stretching  up,  to  peer 
curiously  at  the  top  of  Mrs.  Pennypoker's  head, 
where  a  pale  crescent  was  gradually  appearing  and 
waxing  wider.  "  When  's  he  coming?  " 

"  Not  for  five  or  six  weeks,"  her  father  answered  ; 


THE   EVERETT   HOUSEHOLD.  55 

"  so  you'll  have  to  keep  well  for  a  while  longer. 
He 's  on  his  way ;  but  he 's  going  to  visit  some 
friends  in  Omaha  and  Denver,  before  he  gets 
here." 

"  Hullo  !  "  exclaimed  Ned  suddenly. 

"  What 's  struck  you  ?  "  asked  Grant. 

"Nothing;  only  I  was  wondering  if  this  could 
be  the  same  man  Charlie  Mac  was  telling  about. 
He  met  a  young  man  on  the  train,  papa,  who  came 
from  Chicago  to  the  Bluffs  with  him.  He  had  next 
section,  so  they  talked  some,  and  he  told  Charlie 
he  was  from  way  back  East,  and  was  coming  to 
Blue  Creek,  too.  He  said  he  'd  never  been  here, 
and  asked  Charlie  all  manner  of  questions  about 
the  place  and  all." 

"  I  don't  believe  he  found  out  much,"  said 
Grant  with  a  giggle.  "  Charlie  hadn't  any  more 
idea  than  a  dead  man  what  'twas  going  to  be  like 
out  here." 

"  No  ;  but  he  's  done  pretty  well  since  he  came, 
though,"  said  Ned  admiringly.  "  He 's  acted  as 
if  'twere  just  what  he  'd  always  been  used  to. 
It 's  my  belief  that  Allie  's  been  coaching  him ; 
he  'd  never  get  on  so  well  by  himself,  I  know." 

"  He  came  pretty  near  finishing  himself,  the 
second  day  he  was  here,  all  the  same,"  added 


56  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

Grant.  "  Did  you  hear  about  it,  papa?  Nobody 'd 
told  him  to  look  out  a  little,  till  he  was  used  to 
this  air.  He  started  out  to  run,  and  it  used  him 
up  in  no  time,  so  he  turned  blue-white,  and  nearly 
dropped.  He's  taking  it  slowly,  now;  and  is  get 
ting  into  it  by  little  and  little." 

"By  the  way,"  asked  Louise  suddenly ;  "what 
has  become  of  Marjorie?  I  haven't  seen  her  for 
a  week." 

"  She  's  under  punishment,"  replied  Ned  lugu 
briously ;  "and  we  haven't  any  of  us  seen  her 
since  the  afternoon  we  were  out  skating,  just  before 
Charlie  came.  I  don't  know  exactly  what  'tis ; 
but  it  must  be  something  pretty  bad,  for  her 
mother  to  keep  her  away  so  long." 

"  Marjorie  is  always  getting  herself  into  trouble, 
it  seems  to  me,"  said  Mr.  Everett,  laughing  indul 
gently  as  he  spoke,  for  he  had  a  genuine  liking  for 
this  active,  flyaway  young  girl,  whose  heart  was  as 
true  and  kind  as  her  impulses  were  hasty  and  rash. 

"So  she  is,"  returned  Ned  defensively;  "but 
she  flies  into  everything  head  first,  and  without 
thinking  much  about  it ;  and  then  she  goes  into 
the  depths  of  gunny-sacks  and  cinders  afterwards, 
when  it 's  too  late  to  do  any  good." 

"That  isn't  a  very  helpful  kind  of  penitence," 


THE   EVERETT   HOUSEHOLD.  57 

remarked  Mrs.  Pennypoker,  looking  up  from  her 
plate. 

"  It 's  a  very  natural  one,  I  am  afraid,"  said 
Mr.  Everett  charitably.  "  Then  Marjorie  hasn't 
seen  this  new  friend  of  yours?  " 

"  No,  not  yet,"  Grant  answered.  "  It 's  a  shame, 
too,  for  she  was  in  a  hurry  to  get  a  look  at  him. 
He  is  a  first-rate  fellow,  really,  papa;  and  doesn't 
seem  a  bad  tenderfoot,  even  to  old-timers  like  Ned 
and  me.  What  do  you  want,  Wang?  "  he  added, 
as  Wang  Kum's  head  appeared  at  the  door. 

"  Mas'  How'd,  he  here,"  announced  Wang  briefly. 
"  He  no  come  in;  wan'  you."  And  he  vanished, 
followed  by  the  boys,  who  hurried  out  in  search  of 
their  friend. 

In  the  mean  time,  at  the  Burnam's  a  short  con 
versation  was  taking  place,  which  would  have  en 
lightened  the  boys  on  the  subject  of  Charlie's 
easy  adaptability  to  his  new  surroundings.  It  was 
his  habit  to  practise  for  an  hour  after  dinner  each 
night,  and  Allie  was  usually  beside  him.  She 
loved  music  as  well  as  did  her  cousin,  and  was 
content  to  settle  herself  on  a  wide  sofa  drawn  up 
boside  the  piano,  sometimes  with  a  book,  but 
more  often  idly  leaning  back  against  the  cushions, 
with  her  eyes  fixed  on  her  cousin's  face,  as  he 


58  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

gradually  tost  all  consciousness  of  her  presence  in 
his  enjoyment  of  the  music.  Young  boy  as  he 
was,  and  a  normal,  healthy  boy,  too,  Charlie  had 
undoubted  genius  in  this  one  direction,  and  added 
to  a  rare  talent  for  music  the  skill  gained  by  five 
years  of  study  under  the  best  master  that  the  city 
could  afford,  until,  both  in  subject  and  method,  his 
playing  was  far  beyond  what  one  would  naturally 
expect  in  a  lad  of  his  years.  It  had  been  a  great 
delight  to  him  to  find  that  Allie  cared  for  his 
mucic,  and  could  understand  the  varying  moods 
which  he  tried  to  express  in  his  hours  of  practice. 
The  two  cousins  really  had  their  best  times  in 
these  nightly  visits,  for  when  his  regular  time  of 
practice  was  over,  Charlie  would  still  linger  at  the 
piano,  playing  in  a  soft,  fitful  undertone,  while 
they  discussed  the  events  of  the  day,  or  planned 
for  the  morrow's  program.  The  week  they  had 
been  together  had  quickly  ripened  their  first  lik 
ing  for  each  other  into  a  close  friendship ;  and 
after  a  day  of  out-of-door  frolics  with  the  other 
boys,  Charlie  had  learned  to  look  forward  to  the 
time  of  talking  it  over  with  Allie,  and  listening  to 
her  merry,  whimsical  comments  on  what  they  had 
done  and  seen.  But,  on  this  particular  night, 
Charlie  was  bound  on  gaining  information. 


THE   EVERETT   HOUSEHOLD.  59 

"  If  you  please,  ma  'am,"  he  began,  as  he  let 
his  hands  fall  from  the  keys,  and  turned  to  face 
his  cousin. 

"  Oh  —  yes  —  what?  "  responded  Allie,  gradu 
ally  rousing  herself  from  her  story. 

"  If  you  please,  I  'd  like  to  ask  a  question,"  he 
said  meekly.  "  I  'm  in  want  of  a  few  pointers." 

"Well?"  and  Allie  was  all  attention,  as  she 
smiled  up  at  her  cousin's  perplexed  face. 

"In  the  first  place,  how  much  is  a  bit?"  de 
manded  Charlie. 

"  Twelve  and  a  half  cents,"  she  answered 
promptly.  "  Why?  " 

"  I  don't  know  as  I  dare  tell,"  Charlie  replied, 
with  a  shamefaced  laugh. 

"  Go  on,"  urged  Allie  curiously.  "  I  'm  sure  it 's 
something  funny,  and  you  know  I  never  tell  tales." 

"  Well,  if  you  '11  promise,  true  blue.  You  see, 
I  wanted  some  new  rubbers,  for  mine  were  all  full 
of  holes,  and  I  was  tired  of  going  round  with  wet 
feet ;  so  I  went  down  town  this  morning  and  tried 
to  buy  some.  The  clerk  said  they  were  six  bits, 
but  I  didn't  know  how  much  that  was,  and  didn't 
want  to  say  so,  so  I  told  him  that  I  didn't  quite 
like  the  kind,  and  went  off." 

"  You  Ve    a    great    mind,    Charlie,"    said    Allie 


60  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

approvingly.  "  Everybody  here  counts  by  bits  ; 
two  make  a  quarter ;  and  then,  you  know,  we  don't 
have  any  pennies  here,  nothing  smaller  than  a  five- 
cent  piece.  Remember  that,  and  don't  offer  any 
body  a  penny,  even  if  it 's  a  beggar.  Go  on ; 
what  next?" 

"That's  about  all,  for  this  time,"  he  answered. 
"  Oh,  no  ;  there  's  one  thing  more.  What 's  that 
queer  place  down  south  of  here,  all  fenced  in,  and 
with  little  bits  of  log  cabins  scattered  arouncl  as  if 
they'd  just  been  dropped  out  of  a  pepper-box?" 

"That's  Chinatown,"  said  Allie,  laughing  at  the 
accuracy  of  the  description.  "We  must  get  papa 
to  take  us  there,  some  day.  But  now  I  want  to 
tell  you  something.  You  knowMarjorie  Fisher?" 

"  Can't  say  I  do,"  returned  Charlie  flippantly. 

"  Yes,  I  know  what  you  mean,"  interrupted 
Allie ;  "  but  you  know  who  she  is,  and  you  want 
to  know  her,  herself,  for  she  's  great  fun.  She  's 
been  —  busy,  this  last  week ;  but  I  had  a  note 
from  her  to-night,  and  she  wants  us  all  to  come 
down  there  to-morrow  afternoon  for  a  candy-pull. 
I  tolcl  her  we  'd  go,  so  she  's  going  to  stop  here 
after  school  and  wait  for  you  and  Howard,  and 
we'll  all  go  on  together  The  Everetts  will  be 
there,  too,  and  we  shall  be  sure  to  have  a  good 
time ;  we  always  do  at  Marjorie's." 


CHAPTER   IV. 

ON  THE   CROSS-HEAD. 

"  THE  bees  and  the  wasps  were  there. 
The  old  queen  bee,  Math  fiendish  glee, 
Was  pulling  a  hornet's  hair. 
The  monkey  thought 't  was  rough ; 
He  took  a  pinch  of  snuff, 
And  then  the  bees  began  to  sneeze, 
And  left, "  — 

sang  a  clear,  boyish  voice  outside,  and  the  next 
moment  steps  were  heard  on  the  piazza. 

"Who's  that?"  asked  Marjorie,  glancing  up 
from  the  skating  cap,  which,  with  infinite  pains, 
she  was  crocheting,  in  thoughtful  anticipation  of 
Howard's  birthday,  the  following  summer. 

"Charlie;  don't  you  know  his  voice?"  re 
sponded  Allie,  who  was  sitting  with  one  foot  tucked 
under  her,  while  she  sewed  the  buttons  on  her 
shoe. 

"How  should  I?  I 've  never  heard  him  sing," 
answered  Marjorie. 

"You  will  soon,  for  he  and  Ned  are  to  lead  the 
new  choir  at  Easter.  Charlie  seems  to  be  feeling 
unusually  comfy  to-day,"  said  his  cousin,  as  the 
61 


62  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

boy  came  in  at  the  side  door  opening  into  the 
dining-room,  and  walked  over  to  the  corner  where 
they  were  sitting,  curled  up  by  the  stove. 
"Where  'd  you  get  that  pretty  song?  "  she  added. 

"  Made  it  up,  of  course  ;  didn't  you  know  I  was 
a  poet?  "  inquired  Charlie  blandly,  while  he  nodded 
to  Marjorie,  and  then  pulled  off  his  glasses  to  wipe 
away  the  steam  condensed  on  them  by  the  sudden 
change  from  the  cold  outer  air  to  the  heat  within 
the  house. 

"  I  never  should  have  supposed  so,"  Marjorie 
answered,  laughing.  "You  look  altogether  too 
plump  and  well-fed." 

"  Can't  help  it ;  you  can't  tell  by  looking  at  a 
toad  how  far  he  '11  hop.  I  wrote  it  '  all  my  lone/ 
as  Vic  says,"  responded  Charlie.  "  I  'm  very  proud 
of  it,  too." 

"  Sit  down  and  amuse  us,"  said  Allie,  hospitably 
drawing  a  chair  nearer  the  fire. 

"  No,  thank  you ;  I  'm  engaged,  and  must  be 
going,"  returned  Charlie,  with  a  lofty  air  of  im 
portance  which  was  not  without  its  effect  upon  his 
cousin. 

"What 's  going  on?  "  she  asked  curiously.  "  I 
told  Marjorie  that  you  acted  unusually  set  tip  over 
something." 


ON   THE   CROSS-HEAD.  63 

"  I  met  Mr.  Everett  just  now,  and  he  told  me 
that,  if  I  'd  get  over  to  the  smelter  at  three,  he  'd 
let  me  go  down  the  mine  this  afternoon.'^ 

"  O  Charlie,  take  us  with  you,"  begged  his 
cousin,  starting  up,  forgetful  of  the  fact  that  she 
was  still  without  one  shoe.  "  I  Ve  never  been, 
and  I  do  want  to  go,  so  much." 

"  Can't ;  girls  aren't  invited,"  said  Charlie  heart 
lessly.  "  He  did  say  that  he  '11  take  us  all  at  once, 
though,  as  soon  as  they  put  the  cage  in,  next 
month ;  but  he  doesn't  like  to  take  but  one  at  a 
time,  on  this  thing  they  're  running  now.  I  wish 
you  could  go,  for  'twould  be  lots  more  fun." 

"  'T  isn't  much  to  go  down,"  said  Marjorie,  with 
an  air  of  superior  wisdom.  "  It's  dark  and  slip 
pery,  and  not  any  too  clean ;  and  you  have  to  get 
out  of  the  way  of  something  or  other,  most  every 
minute." 

"Yes,  I  know,"  said  Allie ;  "  it's  all  very  well  to 
say  that,  when  you  Ve  been ;  but  I  never  had  a 
chance  to  go.  I  was  ill  the  time  Howard  went ; 
and  now  I  shall  be  the  only  one  left  that  hasn't 
been  down.  I  hope  you  '11  have  an  awfully  good 
time,  though,  Charlie,  and  not  get  lost,  or  smashed, 
or  anything  else  that's  bad,  while  you're  under 
ground.  Isn't  it  growing  colder?"  she  added,  as 


64  IN  BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

Charlie  turned  up  the  collar  of  his  ulster  and  sci 
entifically  pinched  the  edges  of  his  ears,  prepara 
tory  to  starting  out  once  more. 

"T  isn't  exactly  balmy,"  he  answered.  "Want 
anything,  before  I  go?  "  And  a  moment  later  the 
door  closed  behind  him. 

"  You  're  a  lucky  girl,  Allie,"  said  Marjorie, 
while  she  watched  the  figure  striding  along  down 
the  road.  "  Even  Ned  says  he  's  the  jolliest  fellow 
in  town,  all  but  Howard." 

"  Yes,  't  is  good  to  have  him  here,"  said  Allie 
contentedly,  as  she  slipped  on  her  shoe  and 
stooped  to  button  it  up.  "He's  just  as  good- 
natured  and  nice  as  he  can  be ;  and  I  think  I  like 
him  better  than  any  boy  I  ever  saw,  except  How 
ard,  even  if  he  hasn't  been  here  quite  a  month." 

"Not  better  than  Ned?"  Marjorie  exclaimed 
incredulously. 

"Well  — no  —  I  don't  know,"  said  Allie,  waver 
ing  a  little.  "  Ned  's  just  about  as  near  right  as 
he  can  be ;  but  I  believe,  after  all,  I  'd  rather  live 
in  the  house  with  Charlie.  Ned  might  be  a  little 
too  peppery  for  a  steady  diet." 

"  I  never  thought  you  'd  turn  a  cold  shoulder  to 
Ned,"  said  Marjorie,  shaking  her  head  over  Allie's 
defection.  "  Charlie  's  very  nice  and  gentlemanly, 


ON   THE   CROSS-HEAD.  65 

and  all  that,  but  I  don't  believe  he  has  half  Ned's 
pluck.  Do  you  remember  the  time  he  sprained 
his  wrist  falling  off  his  pony,  way  up  the  gulch,  and 
wouldn't  tell  of  it  till  we  were  home  again?  I 
don't  think  Charlie  Mac  would  stand  that  kind  of 
thing  long.  There  's  no  special  reason  he  shouldn't 
be  agreeable ;  we  Ve  all  of  us  tried  our  best  to 
make  him  have  a  good  time." 

"  Charlie  isn't  a  baby,  though,"  returned  Allie, 
valiantly  rising  to  the  defence  of  her  cousin. 
"  You  think,  just  because  he  knows  more  about 
music  than  'most  anybody  else  in  the  camp,  and 
looks  and  acts  as  if  he  came  from  a  city,  that  he  's 
more  than  half  girl.  But  I  '11  tell  you  he  isn't, 
Marjorie,  and  if  anything  came  to  try  him,  you  'd 
find  he  'd  come  up  to  the  mark  every  bit  as  well 
as  Ned.  I  don't  know  as  I  care  to  have  anything 
happen,  though,  just  for  the  sake  of  .proving  it." 

In  the  mean  time,  the  subject  of  the  conversa 
tion  was  walking  rapidly  in  the  direction  of  the 
smelter,  whose  pile  of  huge  red  buildings  lay  a  lit 
tle  to  the  southeast  of  the  town,  across  the  creek 
and  close  to  the  foot  of  the  mountain  which  tow 
ered  above  it  sheer  and  straight.  A  few  hundred 
feet  down  the  canon  below  it,  and  a  little  farther 
back  from  the  creek,  was  the  shaft  leading  down 


66  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

into  the  mine,  and  beside  it  the  engine  house 
with  the  machinery  needful  for  raising  the  ore, 
and  for  carrying  the  miners  to  and  from  the  cross 
cuts,  hundreds  of  feet  below. 

Though  he  had  often  been  to  the  smelter  with 
Ned  and  Grant,  it  was  the  first  time  that  Charlie 
had  visited  the  place  alone.  He  felt  very  small 
and  insignificant,  as  he  stepped  inside  the  enclos 
ure,  with  its  array  of  great  buildings,  mammoth 
chimneys  whence  rose  the  smoke  from  countless 
and  undying  fires,  and  its  throng  of  busy  workers. 
Then  he  entered  the  little  building  which  served 
as  superintendent's  office,  and  in  a  moment  the 
whir  and  clang  of  the  outer  life  was  left  behind 
him,  and  he  found  himself  in  a  quiet,  pleasant 
room,  with  only  a  collection  of  maps  and  photo 
graphs  and  specimens  of  ores,  to  tell  of  the  vast 
business  centering  there.  As  the  boy  shyly  came 
in  at  the  door,  Mr.  Everett  rose  to  receive  him. 

"  O  Charlie,  you  're  just  on  the  minute,  and 
I  'm  all  ready  for  you,"  he  said,  glancing  up  at 
the  clock. 

"  Somers,  I  'm  going  down  the  shaft  with  this 
young  man ;  if  anybody  wants  me,  tell  him  I  '11 
be  here  at  five."  And,  putting  on  his  overcoat, 
he  went  away,  followed  by  Charlie,  who  was  filled 


ON   THE   CROSS-HEAD.  6/ 

with  an  eager  enthusiasm  at  the  idea  of  going  so 
far  towards  the  center  of  the  earth. 

"  I  'm  sorry,"  Mr.  Everett  said,  as  they  followed 
a  path  winding  in  and  out  among  the  buildings, 
and  then  came  out  on  the  main  road  leading  to 
the  shaft ;  "  I  'm  sorry  that  we  haven't  time  to  take 
in  the  smelter,  too,  to-day ;  but  you  can  go  there 
almost  any  time.  Any  of  the  men  in  the  office 
can  take  you  through  it,  as  well  as  I  can ;  but  I 
don't  let  strangers  go  into  the  mine  unless  I  'm 
with  them.  We  're  going  to  put  in  a  new  cage, 
next  month,"  he  added  casually,  as  they  drew 
near  the  shaft. 

"What's  that  for?"  asked  Charlie,  to  whom 
cages  and  their  construction  were  a  mystery. 

"  Safer,  and  can  carry  more,"  answered  his  host 
concisely.  "  These  cross-heads  and  buckets  are 
slow  work.  A  two-deck  cage  will  do  the  same 
amount  in  much  less  time,  and  there  's  no  fear 
of  their  catching,  as  these  do  sometimes." 

As  he  spoke,  they  paused  to  look  at  the  gear 
ing  of  windlass  and  cable  at  the  mouth  of  the  shaft ; 
then  Charlie  cautiously  approached  the  opening. 
After  all  he  had  heard  of  mines  and  shafts,  it  was 
rather  disappointing  to  him  to  see  only  a  great, 
square  hole  leading  down  into  the  depths  of  the 


68  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

earth.  What  he  had  expected,  it  would  be  hard 
to  say;  but  it  is  certain  that  his  disappointment 
deepened  when,  after  three  strokes  from  the  engi 
neer's  bell,  the  hoisting  engine  suddenly  started 
into  life, -and,  out  from  the  darkness  of  the  shaft, 
there  slowly  emerged  into  view  an  ungainly  con 
trivance  of  four  great  timbers,  arranged  in  a  hol 
low  square  and  hung  on  a  cable,  which  passed 
freely  through  openings  in  the  upper  and  lower 
timbers,  to  carry  a  huge  bucket  fastened  to  its 
end,  while  a  black-faced  miner  stood  in  the  bucket, 
much  in  the  attitude  of  a  jack-in-the-box  after  the 
spring  is  loosed. 

"  That 's  what  we  call  the  cross-head,  above,"  ex 
plained  Mr.  Everett.  "  It  slides  free  on  the  rope, 
and  rests  on  the  fastening  of  the  bucket.  Now 
you  see  how  we  bring  up  the  ore." 

"  But  do  we  have  to  go  down  in  that  thing?" 
inquired  Charlie,  drawing  back  in  disgust,  as  he 
surveyed  the  grimy,  dusty  bucket  before  him. 

"  Not  unless  you  prefer  it,"  Mr.  Everett  an 
swered,  laughing.  "  It 's  against  rules  to  ride  in  it ; 
and  anyway  I  usually  go  on  the  cross-head,  myself, 
for  the  bucket  reminds  me  too  much  of  Simple 
Simon.  Step  on  here,"  he  added,  as  the  crude 
elevator  sank  down  until  the  upper  beam  was  on  a 


ON   THE   CROSS-HEAD.  69 

level  with  the  surface  of  the  ground.  "  Now,  if 
you  just  hold  on  to  the  rope,  you  're  all  right. 
Let  us  go  slowly,  Joe,"  he  went  on,  to  the  waiting 
engineer;  "  I  want  to  take  a  look  at  the  shaft,  as 
we  go  down.  We  '11  try  the  seven-hundred  level 
to-day." 

A  moment  later,  they  began  to  sink  away  from 
the  light  above  them,  while  the  opening  at  the 
mouth  of  the  shaft  grew  smaller  and  smaller  to 
their  eyes,  and  their  lamps  only  cast  a  sickly, 
uncertain  light  on  the  walls  beside  them.  They 
went  down  slowly,  so  slowly,  that,  as  soon  as  he 
had  had  time  to  accustom  himself  to  the  new  sen 
sation,  Charlie  had  plenty  of  opportunity  to  ex 
amine  the  walls.  For  the  most  part,  they  were 
roughly  cased  with  boards  and  surrounded  at  in 
tervals  by  the  massive  collar-timbers,  projecting 
ten  or  twelve  inches  inside  the  boards.  At  each 
side  of  the  shaft  were  the  heavy  upright  guides, 
running  from  top  to  bottom  and  serving  to  keep 
in  place  the  cross-head,  which  was  fitted  to  move 
easily  between  them.  Down,  down  they  went,  for 
what  seemed  to  the  boy  a  limitless  distance. 
They  had  passed  a  great  square  chamber,  opening 
into  along,  lighted  corridor  which  Mr.  Everett  had 
told  him  were  the  station  and  cross-cut  at  the  four- 


70  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

hundred  level,  and  still  they  were  sinking.  All  at 
once  they  came  to  a  sudden  stop,  and  the  next 
instant  Charlie  felt  the  rope  he  was  holding  slowly 
drawing  down  through  his  hands.  Mr.  Everett 
gave  a  quick  exclamation. 

"  Let  go  the  rope  !  "  he  commanded  abruptly. 

"  I  'm  perfectly  willing,"  answered  Charlie,  laugh 
ing,  as  he  rubbed  his  tingling  palms.  "  What 's  up, 
anyway?  We  don't  seem  to  be  anywhere  in  par 
ticular." 

"  We  're  caught  a  little,"  replied  Mr.  Everett 
quietly.  "  You  needn't  be  frightened,  for  it's  hap 
pened  before.  All  is,  the  cross-head  has  caught, 
and  the  bucket  is  going  down  without  us,  and  tak 
ing  the  rope  with  it.  Have  you  a  steady  head  ?  " 

"  I  s'pose  so,"  said  Charlie  lightly,  for,  in  his 
ignorance  of  mines,  he  had  no  idea  of  the  possible 
danger  of  his  position. 

"  Very  well ;  can  you  turn  around  and  step 
clown  on  the  beam  that's  just  below  us?  "  returned 
Mr.  Everett,  still  speaking  in  the  same  calm  voice, 
though  with  the  brevity  of  a  captain  giving  his 
orders  on  a  field  of  battle.  "  If  you  can,  do  it, 
and  then  put  your  arm  around  the  back  of  the 
guide  there.  So  ;  that 's  all  right." 

In  another  moment,  he    had  followed    Charlie, 


ON   THE   CROSS-HEAD.  /I 

and  taken  his  place  beside  him  on  the  other  side  of 
the  guide,  where  he  showed  the  boy  how  to  grasp 
the  timber  in  such  a  way  that  the  cross-head,  com 
ing  up,  should  not  touch  his  arm.  That  done,  he 
breathed  a  sigh  of  relief. 

"  There  !  "  he  said  ;  "  now  we  're  safe  for  the 
time  being.  The  next  question  is :  how  are  we 
going  to  get  out  of  this  trap  ?  " 

"Why  couldn't  we  stay  on  the  cross-head?" 
asked  Charlie,  as  it  began  to  move  slowly  away 
from  the  spot  where  it  had  lodged. 

"Just  that  reason,"  returned  Mr.  Everett,  with  a 
motion  of  his  head  towards  the  clumsy  frame  which, 
once  loosed,  went  sliding  away  down  the  rope  after 
the  bucket.  "  Though  you  may  not  have  known 
it,  young  man,  you  were  never  in  a  much  more 
dangerous  place  than  you  were  five  minutes  ago ; 
for,  as  soon  as  it  could  get  free,  the  cross-head  was 
going  to  crash  down  on  top  of  the  bucket,  with 
force  enough  to  kill  anybody  that  happened  to  be 
on  it.  I  knew  'twould  go,  sooner  or  later;  but  I 
didn't  feel  so  sure  that  we  could  get  off  in  time." 

"  Then  it 's  done  it  before?"  asked  Charlie,  in  no 
wise  moved  by  the  knowledge  of  his  past  danger, 
but,  boy-like,  rather  enjoying  the  novelty  of  his 
position,  halfway  down  the  shaft  of  the  mine,  and 


72  IN   BLUE   CREEK    CANON. 

lodged  like  a  fly  on  the  wall,  with  only  a  narrow 
beam  between  himself  and  a  fall  of  four  or  five 
hundred  feet. 

"  Once,"  answered  Mr.  Everett,  amused,  in  spite 
of  his  anxiety,  by  the  boy's  coolness.  "  It  killed 
four  men  on  the  cross-head,  and  the  <wie  in  the 
bucket';  but  they  have  such  accidents  in  the  other 
mines  often  enough,  so  we  know  about  what  the 
chances  are.  That 's  one  reason  we  're  going  to 
put  in  a  cage.  Now,"  he  went  on,  resuming  his 
tone  of  authority,  "  don't  you  try  to  move,  and, 
above  all,  don't  look  down.  I  'm  going  to  get 
round  to  the  other  side,  where  I  can  reach  the  bell- 
rope,  and  signal  the  engineer  to  bring  up  the  cross- 
head  again." 

"  Not  walk  around  on  this  beam  !  "  exclaimed 
Charlie,  as  his  interest  changed  to  genuine  alarm, 
for  he  realized  that  such  an  attempt  was  a  very  dif 
ferent  matter  from  standing  quiet  and  holding  on 
by  the  upright  timber  between  them. 

"  There  's  no  other  way,"  Mr.  Everett  answered, 
as  he  started  on  his  perilous  journey.  "I- can't 
reach  to  signal,  from  this  side,  and  they  never 
would  find  us  without.  We  can't  very  well  stay 
here,  so  that  seems  to  be  the  only  thing  I  can  do. 
You  needn't  be  alarmed,  my  boy,"  he  added 


"He  cautiously  moved  away  a  few  inches  along  the  beam." 
—  Page  73. 


ON   THE   CROSS-HEAD.  73 

kindly,  as  he  saw  that  the  lad  was  now  thoroughly 
frightened  for  his  safety.  "  I  am  used  to  all  these 
ins  and  outs,  and  know  about  what  I  can  do,  even 
if  I  never  happened  to  get  caught  just  here  before. 
We  miners  get  to  be  half  monkeys,  and  can  hang 
on  where  most  men  would  fall." 

He  cautiously  moved  away  a  few  inches  along 
the  beam ;  then  he  turned  back  to  add  one  parting 
caution. 

"  Remember,"  he  said,  "  and  don't  try  to  look 
down,  even  if  you  think  you  hear  the  cross-head 
coming  up  again.  If  you  do,  you  are  likely  to  get 
dizzy  and  fall." 

How  long  it  took  for  Mr.  Everett  to  creep  around 
the  shaft,  neither  he  nor  Charlie  ever  knew.  To 
them  both,  the  moments  seemed  long,  but  to  Mr. 
Everett,  in  particular,  they  were  like  hours,  for  he 
realized  so  keenly  all  the  danger  of  their  position, 
and  felt  the  added  responsibility  for  the  young  boy 
in  his  care.  Inch  by  inch,  step  by  step,  he  worked 
his  way  forward,  until  at  length  he  reached  the  op 
posite  guide,  and  felt  the  signal  cord  between  his 
fingers.  Then  he  knew  that  all  trouble  was  ended. 

One,  two,  three  !   rang  out  the  engineer's  bell. 

The  engineer  was  perplexed.  He  had  been 
lowering  the  bucket  more  and  more  slowly,  and 


74  IN  BLUE    CREEK   CANON. 

still  there  had  reached  him  no  summons  to  stop, 
although  his  dial  told  him  that  the  cross-head  must 
be  far  below  the  seven-hundred  level.  And  now 
came  the  summons  to  raise  slowly,  when  he  was 
sure  that  it  was  near  the  level  of  no  station.  What 
was  the  matter?  It  was  evident  that  there  was 
some  trouble. 

Slowly  the  engine  drew  up  the  bucket.  It  had 
passed  the  six-hundred  level,  then  the  five,  and 
was  now  half  way  to  the  four-hundred,  when  the 
bell  rang  again,  a  single  stroke  this  time,  the  order 
to  stop.  The  engine  was  left  motionless  for  some 
moments,  while  the  engineer,  with  an  anxious  face, 
stood  awaiting  a  fresh  signal.  He  knew  that  some 
thing  was  wrong,  and  that  it  must  concern  the 
superintendent,  since  he  had  been  the  last  man  to 
go  down.  He  spoke  a  few  quick  words  to  his 
assistant,  and  in  a  moment  more  a  little  crowd 
had  gathered  at  the  mouth  of  the  shaft,  just  as  the 
bell  sounded  again,  three  strokes. 

Standing  once  more  on  the  cross-head,  Mr.  Eve 
rett  and  Charlie  could  feel  the  man's  excitement 
in  the  very  motion  of  their  tiny  platform,  as,  obe 
dient  to  the  engine,  it  rose  a  little,  then  stopped, 
then  rose  again,  as  if  feeling  its  way  over  an 
uncertain  course.  So  they  went  on  till  the  four- 


ON  THE   CROSS-HEAD.  75 

hundred  level  was  below  them;  then  the  engine 
quickened  its  action.  Little  by  little  the  tiny  dot 
above  them  broadened,  and  turned  to  a  wide  disk 
of  blue  sky;  and  their  lamps -dwindled  to  a  pale 
yellow  before  the  clear  light  of  day,  as  the  cross- 
head,  with  its  living  freight,  slowly  came  up  into 
the  bright  air,  amid  the  shouts  of  the  men  who 
stood  waiting  to  receive  it. 

"  Father  said  Joe  was  badly  rattled,"  Ned  told 
Charlie,  that  night,  on  their  way  to  a  choir  re 
hearsal.  "  He  was  sure  'twas  all  up  with  you,  and 
came  near  losing  his  head,  so  he  couldn't  run  the 
engine,  or  answer  a  signal." 

"I  didn't  suppose  'twas  as  bad  as  that,"  re 
turned  Charlie.  "  I  didn't  much  like  your  father's 
having  to  walk  round  on  that  beam,  or  whatever 
you  call  it,  but  I  thought  the  rest  was  good  fun." 

"  I  told  father  that  I  didn't  believe  you  knew 
enough  to  be  scared,"  said  Ned,  with  masculine 
frankness.  "  He  was  talking,  all  dinner-time,  about 
the  way  you  kept  cool  and  didn't  make  a  fuss. 
Father  was  frightened,  himself;  he 's  never  been 
in  such  a  fix  before,  with  all  he 's  had  to  do  with 
mines,  and  he  says  he's  going  to  hurry  now,  to 
get  that  cage  put  in  before  they  get  into  any  more 
scrapes.  But  I  just  wish  I  'd  been  down  there  with 


76  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

you,"  he  added  enviously.  "It's  ever  so  much 
more  fun  than  't  is  to  go  straight  down,  without 
any  hitches." 

"  I  '11  wait  till  I  Ve  tried  both,  before  I  make  up 
my  mind,"  responded  Charlie,  as  they  reached  the 
door  of  the  chapel,  and  turned  to  wait  for  Howard 
and  Grant  to  overtake  them. 


CHAPTER   V. 

THE   MEETING   IN   THE   WATERS. 

THREE  weeks  had  passed  since  Charlie's  unsuc 
cessful  attempt  to  explore  the  inside  of  a  mine,  and 
now  the  last  of  March  had  come.  Already  the 
boy  had  begun  to  feel  as  much  at  home  with  his 
cousins  and  in  the  mining  camp,  as  if  he  had  always 
lived  in  Blue  Creek.  Had  the  change  from  his  old 
surroundings  been  less  abrupt  and  marked,  he 
might  have  had  occasional  twinges  of  homesick 
ness  ;  but  everything  about  him  was  so  new  and 
strange,  and  so  full  of  interest,  that  it  left  him  no 
opportunity  to  mourn  for  his  former  life,  save 
when  the  memory  of  his  mother  and  of  his  loss  of 
her  came  fresh  upon  him,  to  bring  him  an  hour  of 
keen  sorrow.  And  now,  as  the  weeks  went  on, 
although  he  never  forgot  her,  still  he  learned  to 
turn  to  his  aunt  for  a  sympathy  and  guidance 
which  in  a  measure  replaced  the  love  that  his 
mother  had  lavished  upon  him ;  while,  on  her  side, 
Mrs.  Burnam  soon  came  to  look  on  him  quite  as 
her  own  boy,  and  daily  rejoiced  in  the  close  inti- 
77 


78  IN   BLUE    CREEK   CANON. 

macy  which  had  sprung  up  between  Charlie  and 
his  cousins. 

The  time  had  been  as  busy  as  it  was  happy.  In 
the  absence  of  any  good  schools  in  the  camp, 
Howard  and  the  Everett  boys  studied  under  the 
supervision  of  Mr.  Nelson,  who  gave  up  his  morn 
ings  to  them ;  and  Charlie  had  joined  them  the 
week  after  he  reached  Blue  Creek.  Marjorie  and 
Allie,  too,  went  every  morning  to  have  a  few  simple 
lessons  from  the  widow  of  one  of  Mr.  Everett's 
former  clerks,  —  a  gentle,  low-voiced  Southern 
woman  who,  left  alone  to  make  her  own  way  in 
this  new  country,  was  glad  to  help  support  herself 
by  taking  occasional  private  pupils.  Accordingly, 
at  a  little  before  nine  o'clock  every  morning,  the 
procession  of  six  formed  in  front  of  the  Everetts 
and  marched  down  the  street  for  half  a  mile,  where 
they  separated,  to  go  to  their  different  tutors  for 
three  or  four  hours  of  work. 

The  unvarying  program  of  the  morning  was 
followed  by  a  hasty  lunch ;  and,  after  that,  there 
were  few  afternoons  when  the  children  did  not 
meet.  There  were  rare  hours  on  the  ice,  when  the 
skating  was  good ;  there  was  coasting  such  as 
Charlie  had  never  dreamed  of  before,  for  in  a 
country  where  all  the  land  stood  up  on  edge,  as 


THE    MEETING   IN   THE   WATERS.  79 

Grant  expressed  it,  and  where  fences  were  un 
known,  it  was  easy  to  find  the  long,  smooth  slopes 
which  are  the  delight  of  every  owner  of  a  good 
sled.  Best  of  all,  to  Charlie's  mind,  were  the  long 
afternoons  of  running  on  snow-shoes,  when  they 
explored  the  canon  far  to  the  north  and  south,  or 
penetrated  the  deep,  narrow  gulch  at  the  west  of 
the  camp.  This  last  sport  was  especially  delight 
ful  to  the  boy,  for  it  gave  him  a  wild  sense  of 
exhilaration  to  go  sliding  and  scuffling  along  over 
three  or  four  feet  of  snow,  or  coast  lazily  down  the 
tiny  hillocks  in  his  path ;  and,  under  the  instruc 
tions  of  his  cousins,  he  quickly  became  skilled  in 
the  use  of  his  runners,  until  he  could  easily  hold 
his  place  at  the  head  of  the  party,  or  turn  a  sharp 
corner  without  treacffng  on  his  own  or  his  neigh 
bor's  heels. 

All  this  was  excellent  fun  while  it  lasted,  but  far 
too  soon  came  the  time  of  melting  snows,  when 
skates  and  sleds  and  snow-shoes  all  had  to  be  laid 
aside  to  wait  for  another  winter.  It  had  been  a 
season  of  exceptionally  deep  snow,  and  the  firm, 
hard  crust  lasted  far  past  its  usual  time  for  thaw 
ing.  Then  came  the  chinook,  the  warm  south 
wind,  which  eats  away  the  accumulated  snow  of 
months  in  as  many  days;  and  the  great  white 


SO  IN   BLUE   CREEK    CANON. 

banks  first  grew  porous,  and  then  slowly  sank 
away,  while  the  water  ran  in  streams  along  the 
streets,  or  lingered  in  still  pools  far  under  the  un 
broken  crust,  waiting  to  drench  the  unwary  passer 
by  who  should  venture  to  set  foot  upon  their 
treacherous  covering. 

It  was  the  afternoon  before  Easter,  and  Louise 
Everett  was  just  preparing  to  start  for  the  chapel, 
to  help  try  the  vestments  on  the  boys  of  the  new 
choir.  She  had  lingered  in  the  doorway  for  a 
moment  to  \vatch  her  brothers,  who  had  gone  on 
before  her,  laughing  and  shouting  as  they  floun 
dered  along,  now  walking  a  few  steps  on  top  of 
the  snow,  now  suddenly  sinking  down,  up  to  the 
waist,  as  they  chanced  to  find  a  spot  where 
the  chinook  had  done  more  ^pid  work.  As  she 
looked  after  them,  she  saw,  crossing  the  road,  one 
of  the  stray  cows  that  wandered  about  the  town. 
The  ungainly  animal  came  slowly  along,  turning 
this  way  and  that,  in  search  of  a  firmer  footing, 
until  all  at  once  her  hind  legs  plunged  down  into 
a  hole,  and  the  poor  creature  was  left  sitting  bolt 
upright  and  staring  stupidly  about  her,  as  if  in 
astonishment  at  her  unwonted  position.  Louise 
laughed  at  the  absurd  picture,  but  her  heart  failed 


THE    MEETING   IN   THE   WATERS.  8 1 

her  a  little  when  she  thought  of  the  long  walk  in 
store  for  her. 

"  I  Ve  a  great  mind  not  to  go,"  she  said  to  her 
self;  "  the  walking  is  so  bad,  and  they  don't  really 
need  me.  I  wish  I  'd  sent  the  bundle  down  by  the 
boys." 

But  she  turned  away  and  went  to  her  room  to 
put  on  her  hat  and  jacket,  for  it  was  never  her 
habit  to  fail  to  keep  an  engagement,  and  she  had 
promised  to  be  at  the  chapel  that  afternoon. 

Perhaps  it  was  the  special  providence  supposed 
to  watch  over  those  who  are  doing  their  duty, 
perhaps  it  was  because  her  light,  quick  steps  made 
little  impression  on  the  snow ;  but  more  than  two 
thirds  of  her  walk  was  over,  and  the  crust  had  not 
once  given  way  beneath  her.  She  was  within 
sight  of  the  chapel,  now,  but  before  she  reached 
it,  she  must  cross  the  small,  open  square,  where 
the  two  main  streets  of  the  town  came  together. 
It  was  only  fifteen  or  twenty  yards,  at  most,  but 
it  lay  lower  than  the  ground  about  it,  and  the 
snow  showed  dark  patches,  here  and  there,  as  if 
the  water  had  gathered  below,  and  was  trying  to 
force  its  way  to  the  surface.  Louise  glanced 
doubtfully  at  the  square ;  but  there  was  no  other 
way  she  could  take,  and  there  were  fresh  foot- 


82  IN  BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

prints  leading  across  it,  showing  that  some  one  had 
been  just  before  her.  Moreover,  she  was  late,  and 
there  was  no  time  to  be  lost.  With  her  skirts 
gathered  closely  about  her,  and  the  great  bundle 
grasped  in  her  other  hand,  she  cautiously  started 
forward,  testing  the  ground  at  every  step,  before 
trusting  her  weight  upon  it.  Slowly  and  carefully 
she  went  on,  and  was  just  congratulating  herself 
upon  her  success,  when  —  fwsch  !  There  was  a 
sound  of  crunching  and  gurgling,  and  her  left  foot 
plunged  down  through  the  snow,  into  six  inches  of 
water  beneath,  with  a  shock  that  threw  the  bundle 
from  her  hand,  and  jolted  her  hat  over  her  eyes. 
With  a  smothered  groan  of  mortification,  she 
scrambled  up  to  a  solid  footing  once  more,  while 
she  thrust  back  her  hat,  and  gave  a  hasty  glance 
over  her  shoulder,  to  assure  herself  that  no  one 
was  in  sight. 

Not  a  human  being  was  visible,  except  one  man 
who  was  turning  a  distant  corner.  For  so  much, 
at  least,  she  could  be  thankful.  But  it  was  plain 
that  a  further  advance  in  that  direction  was  impos 
sible,  and  that  she  must  beat  a  retreat.  Accord 
ingly,  she  picked  up  her  bundle  and  turned  to 
retrace  her  steps,  moving  with  even  greater  cau 
tion  than  before,  and  stepping  only  in  her 


THE   MEETING   IN   THE   WATERS.  83 

previous  tracks.  However,  the  strain  of  one 
crossing  was  all  that  the  weakened  crust  could 
bear,  and  the  third  step  let  her  down  again,  far 
into  the  cold  snow-water  below,  while  her  hat 
took  a  fresh  lurch,  this  time  to  one  side,  and  two 
or  three  hairpins  flew  from  her  glossy  yellow 
braids.  Her  situation  was  fast  becoming  tragic ; 
but  Louise  gathered  herself  up  anew  and  turned 
to  the  right,  only  to  plunge  in  deeper  than  before ; 
to  the  left,  to  meet  with  the  same  fate.  Desper 
ately  she  tried  one  spot  after  another.  Now 
painfully  scrambling  to  an  insecure  footing  on 
top  of  the  crust,  now  violently  descending  into 
the  depths  again,  until  the  snow  about  her  was 
marked  thick  with  deep,  round  holes,  and  her 
feet  were  drenched  and  well-nigh  frozen  with  the 
icy  water  which  trickled  up  and  down  inside  her 
shoes,  as  she  lifted  now  her  toes  and  now  her 
heels  from  the  horizontal. 

"  Pardon  me,  madam,  but  you  seem  to  be  in 
trouble.  Can  I  assist  you?"  inquired  a  courteous 
voice  behind  her. 

Slowly  and  painfully  Louise  turned  around  in 
her  miniature  well.  Then  she  blushed  to  the 
roots  of  her  hair.  Ten  feet  away  from  her,  on 
the  outer  edge  of  the  square,  stood  a  stranger, 


84  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

who  was  watching  her  with  an  air  of  respectful 
sympathy,  which  was  entirely  out  of  harmony 
with  the  amused  twinkle  of  his  gray  eyes.  One 
quick  glance  told  the  girl  that  the  stranger  was 
young  and  undeniably  good-looking;  then  her 
eyes  dropped  to  the  bundle  in  her  hand,  as  she 
answered,  — 

"  Thank  you,  but  I  'm  caught  here,  and  can't 
seem  to  find  a  spot  that  will  bear  me.  Don't 
trouble  yourself;  I  shall  get  out  in  a  moment. 
Oh,  don't  try  to  come  here  !  "  she  added  hastily, 
as  he  made  a  motion  as  if  to  go  nearer  her.  "  If 
you  do,  you  will  never  get  out." 

The  stranger  paused  doubtfully  and  looked  at 
her  again.  There  was  a  tone  of  good-breeding  in 
her  voice,  and,  as  he  came  nearer,  he  saw  that  she 
was  pretty,  with  a  delicate,  refined  beauty  which 
was  not  in  keeping  with  her  great  bundle,  her 
bedraggled  appearance,  and  the  hat  cocked  rak- 
ishly  over  one  ear,  above  the  drooping  braids  of 
yellow  hair.  At  first  sight,  he  had  taken  her  for 
a  pretty  servant,  out  in  search  of  a  new  place ; 
but  now  he  realized  his  mistake,  and  offered  her 
a  mental  apology  for  his  error. 

"  Perhaps  I  can  tear  a  board  or  two  off  from 
that  fence  over  there,"  he  suggested,  after  a 


THE   MEETING   IN   THE   WATERS.  85 

fresh  survey  of  the  field.  "  If  you  can  stay  there 
for  a  few  minutes,  I  '11  be  back  with  some  of  them, 
and  make  a  bridge." 

In  spite  of  herself,  Louise  laughed  at  the  ab 
surdity  of  her  plight. 

"  Stay  here  !  "  she  echoed  ;  "  I  wish  I  could  do 
anything  else.  But,"  she  demurred,  "  I  am  afraid 
you  will  get  into  trouble,  too." 

But  the  stranger  had  already  gone.  A  moment  or 
two  later,  he  was  back  again,  with  two  long  boards 
under  his  arm,  as  he  picked  his  way  along  towards 
the  young  woman  to  whose  rescue  he  had  so  val 
iantly  devoted  himself.  Once  back  at  his  old 
station,  he  dropped  one  of  the  boards  on  the  snow, 
pushed  it  towards  her,  tested  its  strength,  and 
then  walked  the  length  of  it,  in  order  to  place  the 
other  board  in  position.  This  second  bridge 
brought  him  to  her  side. 

"  Now,"  he  said  gravely,  as  he  bent  forward  and 
held  out  his  hand,  "  let  me  take  the  bundle  first." 

Obeying  him  as  implicitly  as  a  child  might  have 
done,  Louise  handed  him  the  great  bundle  the 
ragged  corners  of  which  bore  unmistakable  signs  of 
her  recent  adventure,  and  he  carefullyconveyed  it  to 
a  place  of  safety.  Then  he  returned  to  the  spot 
where  she  was  standing  in  a  sort  of  open  pool, 


86  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

which  was  growing  wider  and  deeper  with  her 
every  motion. 

"  Please  take  hold  of  my  hand,"  he  said,  with  the 
same  quiet  courtesy  which  he  might  have  shown 
in  asking  her  for  a  waltz,  though  he  pressed  his 
lips  firmly  together,  to  keep  back  the  smile  which 
was  trembling  there.  "  Now,  can  you  step  up  on 
the  end  of  this  board?" 

For  a  moment  Louise  hesitated.  The  step  was 
a  long  one,  and,  in  her  soaked  condition,  she  had 
lost  all  her  wonted  elasticity  of  motion.  However, 
something  in  the  stranger's  face  made  her  feel  that 
it  was  best  for  her  to  obey,  with  as  few  words  as 
possible ;  so  she  mustered  all  her  strength,  made  a 
violent  effort,  and  scrambled  up  to  the  end  of  the 
board,  striking  it  with  a  force  which  sent  it  swing 
ing  far  to  the  left.  For  one  instant  she  balanced 
herself  upon  her  slippery  foothold ;  then  she  fell 
backward  with  a  suddenness  that  carried  her 
rescuer  with  her,  and  they  both  plunged  head  fore 
most  down  into  the  gray  pool  below,  just  as  Grant 
and  Ned  came  out  at  the  chapel  door,  to  look  for 
their  missing  sister. 

As  a  general  rule,  there  was  but  little  observance 
of  Sunday  in  Blue  Creek.  To  the  Eastern  mind,  it 
seemed  strange  to  pass  along  the  busy  streets  and 


THE   MEETING   IN   THE   WATERS.  S/ 

see  the  carpenters  hard  at  work  upon  a  new  house, 
or  to  listen  to  the  clicking  of  the  billiard  balls  in 
the  wide-open  rooms.  In  such  a  community, 
church-going  was  not  a  popular  way  of  spending 
the  time ;  but,  on  the  next  day,  the  little  chapel 
was  filled  to  overflowing  with  the  throng  that  had 
gathered  to  hear  the  new  choir.  It  was  Easter 
evening,  and  the  bright  lights  shone  down  on  the 
masses  of  flowers  on  the  altar  and  the  white  robes 
of  the  boys  in  the  chancel,  and  on  the  closely- 
packed  congregation  below.  Pipe  organs  and  boy 
choirs  were  rare  in  the  region,  and  the  people  of 
Blue  Creek  looked  upon  these  as  the  means  of 
furnishing  an  entertainment  both  novel  and  inex 
pensive  ;  so  it  was  to  a  large  and  varied  audience 
that  Mr.  Nelson  had  the  pleasure  of  preaching  his 
Easter  sermon.  Aside  from  the  regular  attendants 
of  the  chapel,  there  were  groups  of  rough  miners 
alone  and  with  their  families,  who  were  rarely  to 
be  found  in  any  church ;  while,  in  the  foremost 
rank,  sat  Wang  Kum  and  a  dozen  intimate 
friends,  their  very  pigtails  waggling  with  sup 
pressed  excitement  and  admiration,  as  they  looked 
about  the  pretty  chancel  and  listened  to  the  voices 
of  the  boys.  Mr.  Nelson's  glance  rested  upon 
them  for  a  moment,  then  passed  on  down  the 


88  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

middle  aisle,  to  one  of  the  rear  pews,  where  a 
stranger  was  standing,  listening  to  the  anthem  with 
evident  enjoyment. 

He  was  a  tall,  well-built  man  of  thirty,  with 
bright  brown  hair  and  mustache,  and  his  eyes 
showed  large  and  gray  when  he  raised  them,  now 
and  then,  as  Charlie  MacGregor's  voice  rang  out 
above  the  rest  of  the  choir.  He  appeared  to  be 
acquainted  with  no  one  there,  for  he  had  come  in 
alone,  and  without  making  a  sign  of  recognition 
to  any  one  as  he  was  ushered  to  his  seat.  Only 
twice  had  he  seemed  to  be  roused  from  his  quiet 
repose  of  manner.  When  the  first  notes  of  the 
organ  met  his  ear,  he  had  glanced  in  that  direc 
tion ;  and  any  one  watching  him  closely  might 
have  seen  him  give  a  sudden  start  of  surprise, 
while  the  color  rose  to  His  cheeks,  as  his  eyes 
rested  upon  the  organist.  Once  again,  in  the  pro 
cessional,  he  had  started  up  with  a  quick  smile  of 
recognition,  when  he  looked  back  at  the  advancing 
line  of  boys,  and  saw  Charlie  leading  them ;  and 
he  had  bent  towards  the  aisle  to  watch  the  lad,  as 
he  passed  on,  unconscious  of  the  faces  around  him, 
in  his  happiness  at  once  more  being  in  his  old 
place,  at  the  head  of  a  choir. 

But  the  service  was   over,   and  the   choir  were 


THE   MEETING   IN  THE  WATERS.  89 

coming  towards  him  again,  their  voices  ringing 
clear  and  high  in  the  refrain  of  Le  Jeune's  Jeru 
salem,  the  Golden.  Just  as  the  leaders  reached  the 
stranger,  there  came  a  pause  between  the  verses, 
and  Charlie  raised  his  eyes  to  meet  the  gray  ones 
which  were  watching  him  so  intently.  Then  his 
whole  face  brightened,  and  he  smiled  and  nodded 
in  glad  recognition,  as  they  went  on  down  the  aisle 
and  out  into  the  tiny  choir-room. 

The  young  man  moved  aside  to  let  the  other 
occupants  of  the  pew  pass  out  into  the  aisle ; 
then  he  stepped  back  and  waited,  watching,  mean 
while,  the  faces  of  the  congregation,  as  they 
flocked  past  him.  The  group  of  Chinamen  were 
lingering  in  front  of  the  chancel,  peering  about 
at  the  lectern  and  font,  and  gazing  up  at  the 
flower-laden  altar. 

"  Heap  nice ;  all  samee  Joss  house,"  he  heard 
one  of  them  saying,  with  manifest  approval. 

Up  in  her  corner  beside  the  chancel,  the  or 
ganist  was  still  playing  her  postlude ;  then  she 
closed  the  organ,  and  rose  to  come  down  the 
steps,  drawing  on  her  gloves  as  she  came. 
Before  she  had  time  to  raise  her  eyes  towards 
the  congregation,  the  stranger  was  joined  by 
Charlie  MacGregor,  who  had  hurried  to  the  place 


90  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

where  he  was  still  pausing  irresolutely,  with  his 
eyes  fixed  on  Louise. 

"  Dr.  Brownlee,  when  did  you  come?"  the  boy 
exclaimed,  in  enthusiastic  welcome.  "  I  didn't 
know  you  were  here  yet." 

"  I  only  came  yesterday  morning,"  the  doctor 
answered,  with  a  cordial  smile. which  not  only  in 
cluded  Charlie,  but  extended  to  Howard  and  Ned 
who  were  lingering  at  a  little  distance,  and  casting 
curious  glances  at  Charlie's  unknown  friend.  "  I 
was  just  in  time  to  hear  your  new  choir,  but  I 
never  dreamed  of  finding  you  in  it." 

"  Yes,  I  'm  in  it,"  returned  Charlie,  laughing. 
"  I  'm  all  at  home  here,  now.  I  like  it,  too  ;  ever 
so  much -better  than  I  thought  I  was  going  to. 
These  are  my  cousin  and  his  chums,"  he  added, 
as  they  moved  slowly  down  the  aisle  to  where 
Grant  had  joined  his  brother  and  Howard.  ''And 
this,"  he  went  on,  turning  around  abruptly,  and 
speaking  with  the  grace  of  manner  so  natural  to 
him,  "this  is  our  organist,  Miss  Everett.  Miss 
Lou,  may  I  introduce  Dr.  Winthrop  Brownlee,  the 
friend  I  told  you  about  meeting  on  the  way  out 
here?" 

For  a  moment  the  doctor  and  Louise  stared  at 
each  other,  too  much  embarrassed  to  speak,  while 


THE   MEETING   IN   THE   WATERS.  §1 

the  color  rushed  to  their  faces.     Then  the  doctor 

came  to  his  senses,  saying  slowly,  — 

"  I  think  I  have  met  Miss  Everett  before." 
And,  to  the  utter  mystification  of  the  boys,  they 

burst  out   laughing,  and  laughed  as  if  they  would 

never  stop. 


CHAPTER   VI. 
MARJORIE'S  PARTY. 

"  O  ALLIE,"  said  Marjorie  suddenly;  "  did  you 
know  that  next  Thursday  is  going  to  be  mamma's 
birthday?" 

"No,  is  it?"  asked  Allie,  as  she  stooped  to  pick 
up  the  long,  lean  gray  cat  that  was  wandering  aim 
lessly  around  them,  and  rubbing  her  hollow  sides 
against  their  ankles.  "  I  thought  you  gave  Waif 
away,  Marjorie." 

"  We  did,"  responded  Marjorie,  laughing.  "  She 
was  a  stray  cat  that  came  to  us,  you  know,  and  she 
was  so  homely  that  mamma  didn't  want  her  in  the 
house,  so  we  gave  her  to  Dr.  Hornblower,  a  month 
ago." 

"  Where  'd  she  come  from,  then?  "  queried  Allie, 
while  she  stroked  the  cat  as  she  stood  pawing  and 
purring  in  her  lap.  "  Wouldn't  she  stay  with 
him?" 

"  Didn't  I  tell  you  ?  How  queer,  for  we  Ve  been 
laughing  about  it  ever  since  !  You  see,"  Marjorie 
continued,  "  the  doctor  was  lonesome,  and  wanted 


MARJORIE'S  PARTY.  93 

a  cat  for  company,  and  we  didn't  want  Waif,  so  we 
gave  her  to  him.  He  was  perfectly  delighted  with 
her,  and  carried  her  off  home  in  a  paper  sack,  with 
her  head  poking  out  through  a  hole  in  one  side, 
and  her  tail  sticking  out  the  other.  Two  days  later 
he  stopped  papa  in  the  post-office  and  told  him, 
'  Your  kitty 's  caught  a  mouse.'  The  next  week  he 
met  mamma  and  told  her  '  Kitty  's  caught  three 
mice.'  Then  we  didn't  see  anything  more  of  him 
for  ever  so  long,  and  we  supposed  that  was 
the  last  of  it;  but,  day  before  yesterday  morning, 
he  came  to  the  door  and  handed  a  bundle  to 
mamma,  and  said  he  didn't  like  the  kitty  as  well 
as  he  thought  he  was  going  to,  after  all,  so  he  'd 
brought  her  back.  So  here  she  is.  Don't  you 
want  her?  " 

"  I  wouldn't  take  such  a  looking  cat  as  a  gift," 
returned  Allie  disdainfully.  "  But  wasn't  that  just 
like  Dr.  Hornblower?  He's  very  good;  but  he  's 
as  stupid  as  he  can  be,  and  I  don't  s'pose  it  ever 
occurred  to  him  that  he  could  pass  the  cat  along 
to  somebody  else.  Did  you  ever  notice  the  way 
Mrs.  Pennypoker  always  calls  him  '  good  old  Dr. 
Hornblower,'  when  she  's  ten  years  older  than  he 
is?  I  wonder  how  he'd  like  it,  if  he  could  hear 
her." 


94  IN  BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

"  I  don't  believe  he  'd  mind,  for  he  likes  her  so 
well ;  at  least,  he  's  there  ever  so  much,"  said  Mar- 
jorie  innocently. 

"  H'm  !  you  needn't  think  he  goes  to  see  Mrs. 
Pennypoker,"  said  Allie  scornfully.  "It's  Miss 
Lou  that  he  likes." 

"  Not  that  old  man  !  "  And  Marjorie  stared  at  her 
friend  in  amazement. 

"  He  isn't  so  very  old ;  and  I  don't  know  as  I 
wonder  if  he  does,"  replied  Allie,  with  an  air  of 
great  enjoyment  in  her  small  gossip.  "  I  should 
think  anybody  might  like  Miss  Lou,  she  's  so 
pretty  ;  and  I  just  believe  Mrs.  Pennypoker  is  help 
ing  him  on.  You  wait  and  see." 

The  two  girls  were  sitting  alone  in  the  open  front 
door  of  the  Fishers'  house,  enjoying  the  late  after 
noon  sun  of  a  warm  spring  day.  They  had  been 
off  for  a  long  ride  with  the  boys,  as  was  their  fre 
quent  custom.  The  children  all  had  their  saddle 
ponies,  and  it  was  their  delight  to  canter  off,  soon 
after  lunch,  for  an  hour  or  two  among  the  pleasant 
mountain  roads  surrounding  the  town.  On  their 
return,  they  had  stopped  for  a  moment  at  Mar- 
jorie's  door,  to  find  that  Mrs.  Fisher  had  gone  out 
to  make  some  calls ;  and  Marjorie  had  begged  Allie 
to  stay  and  keep  her  company  until  Allie  had  at 


MARJORIE'S  PARTY.  95 

length  yielded  and  allowed  the  boys  to  go  on  with 
out  her. 

There  was  a  pause  after  Allie's  last  words ;  then 
Marjorie  returned  to  her  original  charge. 

"  Yes,"  she  resumed  ;  "  Thursday  is  going  to  be 
her  birthday,  and  I  want  to  celebrate.  What  can 
I  do?" 

"  I  don't  know,  I  'm  sure,"  answered  Allie 
vaguely.  "  What  do  you  want  to  do  ?  " 

"  That 's  the  worst  of  it,"  responded  Marjorie 
thoughtfully.  "  I  want  it  to  be  something  that  she  'd 
like,  and  I  don't  know  just  what.  I  might —  Let 
me  see.  I  '11  tell  you,"  she  added,  with  sudden  in 
spiration,  "  I  '11  give  her  a  surprise  party." 

"What?"  And  Allie  looked  at  her  friend,  in 
astonishment  at  so  daring  a  proposal. 

"  Yes,  I  '11  give  her  a  party,"  repeated  Marjorie, 
nodding  her  head  with  decision. 

"But  do  you  suppose  she'd  like  it?"  inquired 
Allie  dubiously. 

"  Of  course  she  will.  She  'most  always  has  one 
for  me  on  my  birthday,  you  know,"  returned  Mar 
jorie  ;  "  and  she  wouldn't  do  that,  if  she  didn't 
like  them.  She  never  had  one  herself;  but  that 's 
only  because  she  didn't  have  anybody  to  give  her 
one." 


96  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

Such  logic  was  not  to  be  resisted ;  and  Allie 
felt  her  misgivings  swept  away  while  she  lis 
tened. 

"  Besides,"  Marjorie  went  on  enthusiastically ; 
"  I  heard  her  say  to  papa,  last  night,  that  they  'd 
take  that  very  day  to  go  over  to  Butte,  and  buy  the 
new  parlor  carpet.  They  '11  go  in  the  morning 
early,  and  not  come  back  till  five,  so  that  will  just 
give  us  time,  while  they  're  out  of  the  way.  You  '11 
help  me  get  ready  for  it,  won't  you,  Allie?  " 

"  If  mamma  will  let  me,"  Allie  was  beginning, 
when  Marjorie  interrupted,  — 

"  Your  mother  mustn't  know  anything  about  it; 
but  we  won't  go  to  Mrs.  Hammond  that  morning, 
we  '11  come  here  instead." 

"  I  'm  afraid  we  oughtn't  to  do  that,"  remon 
strated  Allie  feebly,  although  she  was  secretly 
longing  to  enter  into  the  proposition. 

"Why  not?"  demanded  Marjorie.  "Mamma 
gave  up  going  to  missionary  meeting,  last  year,  to 
get  ready  for  my  birthday  party,  and  this  is  just 
the  same  thing.  Don't  be  silly,  Allie,  but  help  me 
plan.  I  know  mamma  would  say  't  was  right,"  she 
added  with  an  air  of  self-sacrificing  virtue ;  "  to 
give  up  our  own  improvement  for  the  sake  of 
making  her  happy." 


MARJ OKIE'S  PARTY.  97 

"  We  might  ask  mamma,"  suggested  Allie  hope 
fully. 

"  Oh,  no  ;  she  'd  be  sure  to  tell  my  mother,  and 
that  would  spoil  all  the  surprise,"  interposed  Mar- 
jorie  hastily.  "  It  will  be  all  right,  I  know.  Would 
you  have  them  come  to  supper,  or  just  in  the  even- 
ing?" 

"  It 's  less  work  to  have  them  come  in  the  even 
ing,  isn't  it?"  asked  Allie,  losing  her  last  doubts 
in  the  excitement  of  making  plans  for  so  momen 
tous  an  occasion. 

"Well,  no,"  said  Marjorie  reflectively.  "You 
have  to  feed  them  both  times ;  and,  in  the  evening, 
we  'd  have  to  have  more  salads  and  fancy  things. 
We  won't  need  so  much,  just  for  tea." 

"What  would  you  have?"  inquired  Allie,  mov 
ing  down  to  the  lower  step  where  her  friend  was 
sitting. 

"  Oh,  just  cake  and  preserves,  and  some  kind  of 
cold  meat,"  returned  Marjorie.  "  They  '11  be  so 
busy  talking  they  won't  much  mind  what  they  get 
to  eat,  as  long  as  there  's  plenty  of  it.  We  '11  have 
it  early,  too,  so  they  won't  get  so  hungry.  I  can 
make  splendid  gingerbread,  and  the  rest  we  can 
get  down  at  the  bakery;  I  haven't  touched  my 
this  month's  money  yet.  We  '11  work  hard  all  the 


98  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

morning,  and  get  the  tables  set  and  everything 
ready  before  mamma  comes  home,  so  they  can  be 
on  hand  to  surprise  her,  when  she  comes  in  at  the 
door." 

"  Yes,"  continued  Allie,  growing  enthusiastic  in 
her  turn ;  "  and  then  she  won't  need  to  have  any 
care  or  worry  about  it ;  all  she  '11  have  to  do  will 
be  just  to  sit  in  the  parlor  and  make  sure  that  they 
have  a  good  time.  At  the  table,  she  '11  have  to 
pour  the  tea ;  but  we  can  pass  things.  Who  're 
you  going  to  invite?  " 

"  Let 's  see,"  said  Marjorie,  pondering  over  the 
matter.  "  There 's  your  father  and  mother*  and 
Mr.  Everett  and  Miss' Lou  and  Mrs.  Pennypoker; 
that's  five." 

"And  Ned  and  Grant?"  suggested  Allie. 

"Oh,  no,"  answered  Marjorie;  "they'd  only  be 
in  the  way,  and,  besides,  they  're  too  young.  This 
isn't  a  party  for  me,  you  know,  and  we  can't  have 
the  boys." 

"  Not  even  Howard  ?  "  begged  Allie.  "  He  could 
help  us  cut  meat,  and  wash  dishes  afterwards.  He 
can  do  that  as  well  as  a  girl." 

"  The  boys  can  all  come  and  wash  dishes,  after 
it 's  over,  if  they  want  to,"  returned  Marjorie  firmly ; 
"  but  we  can't  have  them  at  supper-time.  I 


MARJORIE'S  PARTY.  99 

wouldn't  mind  Howard ;  but  there  's  Charlie  and 
the  Everetts  that  would  have  to  come,  if  he  did,  so 
we  might  as  well  stop  before  we  begin.  Where 
was  I?  Two  Burnams  and  three  Everetts  and  two 
Fishers,  to  start  with  :  seven." 

"  And  the  Nelsons?  "  asked  Allie. 

"  Yes,  nine ;  and  Dr.  Hornblower  is  ten,  —  I 
suppose  we  ought  to  ask  him,  —  and  Mrs.  Ham 
mond  is  eleven,  'cause  she  might  be  cross  next 
day,  if  we  didn't  invite  her.  And  then  that  new 
doctor  that  Charlie  knows —  what  is  his  name?  ' 

"Dr.  Brownlee?"  inquired  Allie.  "But  does 
your  mother  know  him?  " 

"  I  don't  think  so,"  said  Marjorie ;  but  he  's  real 
pleasant  looking,  and  I  Ve  heard  her  say,  ever  so 
many  times,  that  it's  polite  to  welcome  strangers 
when  they  first  come  to  a  place,  so  I  know  she  'd 
want  us  to  ask  him.  And  then  Miss  Lou  knows 
him  a  little  bit,  for  I  saw  him  take  off  his  hat  to  her 
the  other  day ;  and  she  can  introduce  him.  He 
makes  twelve.  I  don't  believe  we  'd  better  have 
any  more.  I  'd  like  to  ask  Mr.  Saunders,  that 
keeps  the  fruit  store  down  on  the  corner ;  but  they 
say  thirteen  is  unlucky,  so  perhaps  twelve  will  do." 

"  All  right,"  agreed  Allie.  "  How  are  you  going 
to  ask  them  ? " 


100         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

"  I  shall  just  say,  <  Mamma  wishes  you  'd  come 
to  supper  at  half  past  five.'  I  won't  ask  them  till 
the  night  before  for  fear  somebody  'd  tell  her ;  but 
if  she  goes  on  the  early  train,  it  will  be  safe 
enough." 

"  Then  aren't  you  going  to  say  it 's  a  surprise 
party?  "  asked  Allie,  rising  to  go  home,  as  she  saw 
Mrs.  Fisher  coming  up  the  street. 

"  No  ;  for  I  'm  afraid  they  might  n't  come,"  said 
Marjorie,  in  a  low  voice.  "  Now,  Allie,  don't  you 
dare  to  breathe  a  word  of  this  to  anybody,  not 
even  to  Howard,  for  I  want  it  to  be  a  perfect  sur 
prise.  And  you  know  you  Ve  promised  to  help 
me  out  in  the  morning." 

Five  days  later,  two  flushed  and  grimy,  but 
triumphant  young  hostesses  stood  gazing  at  the 
tables  before  them.  Marjorie's  plan  had  been 
carried  into  effect;  and  her  guests,  one  and  all, 
had  gratefully  accepted  Mrs.  Fisher's  invitation  to 
tea,  for  they  knew  of  old  that  her  little  parties  were 
the  most  enjoyable  ones  in  the  camp.  Even  Dr. 
Brownlee  had  sent  a  cordial  message  of  accept 
ance,  for  though  he  was  surprised  at  the  invitation, 
coming  as  it  did  from  a  stranger  whom  he  did  not 
even  know  by  sight,  he  attributed  it  to  the  pro 
verbial  Western  hospitality,  and  was  glad  of  any- 


MARJORIES,  PARTY.  lOI 

thing  which  could  bring  him  into  connection  with' 
the  people  among  whom  he  was  to  live.  Early 
that  morning  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fisher  had  gone  away 
for  a  long,  tedious  day  of  shopping,  and  an  hour 
later  Allie  and  Marjorie  had  invaded  the  kitchen 
for  four  hours  of  hard  work.  By  noon  all  was  in 
readiness,  and  they  could  pause  to  contemplate 
the  result  of  their  labors. 

The  table  was  stretched  to  its  utmost  length, 
and  bright  with  snowy  linen  and  glass  and  silver, 
while  around  it  were  gathered  twelve  chairs,  taken 
from  the  different  rooms,  in  order  to  accommodate 
the  unusual  number  of  guests.  Here  a  dining- 
room  chair  stood  beside  one  borrowed  from  Mrs. 
Fisher's  bedroom ;  there  kitchen  wood  and  parlor 
upholstery  were  placed  side  by  side,  in  striking 
contrast.  The  table  itself  was  groaning  beneath 
the  weight  of  the  feast,  for  Marjorie  had  been 
liberal  in  her  selection  from  her  mother's  pre 
serves  ;  while  a  whole  boiled  ham,  fresh  from  the 
bakehouse,  stood  before  Mr.  Fisher's  place,  and 
at  the  other  end  of  the  table  his  wife's  chair  was 
decked  with  ribbons,  and  confronted  with  a  great 
loaf  of  cake,  whose  uneven  icing  bore,  in  red  sugar, 
the  letters  "  M.  C.  F.,"  traced  by  an  inexperienced 
hand.  This  was  Allie's  contribution  to  the  ban- 


103  IX  T.LITE   CREEK   CANON. 

qajc,  arid 'Mafjbrie  had  thoughtfully  surrounded  it 
with  a  circle  of  thirty-nine  tiny  candles,  which  stood 
ready  for  the  lighting.  Plates  of  assorted  cookies 
were  scattered  about  the  board ;  here  lay  a  low 
dish  of  olives,  whose  dusky  green  contrasted  well 
with  the  ruddy  globe  of  an  Edam  cheese,  placed 
beside  them,  and  there  rose  a  towering  pyramid  of 
golden  oranges  flanked  on  either  side  by  a  tempt 
ing  pile  of  purple  and  white  grapes. 

"It  does  look  pretty,  doesn't  it,  Allie?"  asked 
Marjorie  for  the  fifth  time. 

"Yes,"  said  Allie,  as  she  bent  forward  to  break 
a  corner  off  from  one  of  the  cookies  and  tuck  it 
into  her  mouth.  "  Yes,  it  is  lovely.  I  do  hope 
your  mother  will  like  it.  But  now  I  must 
hurry,  or  mamma  will  know  something  is  going 
to  happen/' 

"  Go  on,  then ;  only  be  sure  you  're  back  here 
by  five,"  Marjorie  warned  her.  "And  don't  let  the 
boys  come  here  this  afternoon,  for  I  'm  too  tired 
to  even  look  at  them." 

At  half  past  five,  the  guests  had  assembled  and 
were  sitting  in  the  parlor,  looking  a  little  annoyed 
and  uncomfortable  as  the  moments  passed  by  and 
their  hostess  did  not  appear. 

"  Come  right  in,"  Marjorie  had  said  to  them,  one 


MARJORIE'S  PARTY.  103 

after  another ;  "  Mamma  will  be  so  glad  to  see 
you  ;  she  '11  be  here  in  a  minute." 

Last  of  all  came  Dr.  Brownlee.  He  had  been 
delayed  until  the  last  possible  moment,  and  now, 
just  as  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fisher  turned  the  corner  far 
down  the  street,  he  rang  at  the  door,  to  be 
admitted  by  Marjorie.  Once  inside  the  parlor,  he 
stopped  and  looked  around  the  room  in  search  of 
his  hostess,  in  order  to  offer  her  a  prompt  apology 
for  his  seeming  rudeness  in  being  so  late.  To  his 
surprise,  there  was  no  one  present  at  all  answering 
to  the  description  of  Mrs.  Fisher  which  he  had 
received  from  his  landlady. 

"  Hamlet,  without  the  ghost !  "  he  thought  to 
himself,  as  he  paused  irresolutely,  just  across  the 
threshold,  and  glanced  about  in  vain  for  a  familiar 
face. 

For  a  moment  there  was  an  awkward  hush. 
Most  of  the  guests  knew  the  doctor  by  sight,  but 
in  the  explicable  absence  of  their  hostess,  no  one 
was  sufficiently  at  ease  to  rise  and  bid  the  stranger 
welcome  to  another  person's  house.  They  tried 
to  go  on  with  their  conversation,  in  apparent  un 
consciousness  of  the  young  man  who  stood  in  the 
doorway,  reddening  under  their  sidelong  glances ; 
but  their  attempt  was  not  crowned  with  success, 


104         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

and  there  came  one  of  those  seemingly  intermin 
able  pauses  which  sometimes  fall  upon  a  room. 
Then,  all  at  once,  Louise  Everett  rose  from  her 
chair  in  the  bay-window,  where  she  had  been 
hidden  behind  the  ample  shoulder  of  Mrs.  Penny- 
poker,  and,  crossing  the  room,  she  greeted  the 
doctor  as  an  old  acquaintance.  A  few  words 
passed  between  them ;  then  she  introduced  him 
to  the  other  guests,  before  leading  the  way  back 
to  her  own  cosy  corner,  where  Mrs.  Burnam  sat 
waiting  to  welcome  him,  as  the  friend  of  her  young 
nephew. 

"  Who 's  that  going  in  at  our  house?"  Mr. 
Fisher  had  asked,  peering  over  the  top  of  the  pile 
of  bundles  in  his  arms.  "  It  looks  like  Dr.  Brown- 
lee  ;  but  why  should  he  be  going  there?  " 

"  Oh,  dear;  I  hope  it  isn't  anybody  coming  to 
call,"  sighed  his  wife,  with  the  inhospitality  born 
of  a  long  day  of  tedious,  unsatisfactory  shopping. 
But  she  quickened  her  pace,  in  order  to  discover 
who  was  the  guest  awaiting  them. 

At  the  door  she  was  met  by  Marjorie,  dressed 
in  her  best  gown,  and  looking  strangely  excited. 

"  Let  me  take  your  things,  mamma,"  she  said  in 
a  low  tone.  "  There  's  somebody  to  see  you  in 
the  parlor." 


MARJORIE'S    PARTY.  105 

Forcing  a  smile  to  her  tired  face,  Mrs.  Fisher 
advanced  to  the  door  to  greet  her  caller.  On  the 
threshold  she  paused  aghast,  for*  to  her  startled 
eyes,  the  room  appeared  to  be  thronged  with 
people,  who  rose  and  stepped  forward  to  meet  her, 
while  Marjorie  stood  at  her  side,  gleefully  clapping 
her  hands  and  exclaiming,  — 

"  It 's  a  surprise  party,  mamma  !  It 's  a  surprise 
party !  " 

For  one  instant,  Mrs.  Fisher  faltered.  She  had 
come  home  in  a  state  of  utter  exhaustion,  and  she 
longed  to  run  away  from  the  parlor  and  hide.  But 
the  next  minute  her  courage  came  back  to  her,  in 
the  face  of  her  roomful  of  guests,  and  she  gave 
them  as  hearty  a  welcome  as  if  the  party  had  been 
one  of  her  own  making.  Up  and  down  the  room 
she  went,  speaking  a  wond  here,  shaking  a  hand 
there,  all  with  the  tact  for  which  her  hospitality 
was  noted.  She  had  sent  one  appealing  glance 
towards  Louise,  and  the  girl,  taking  in  the  situation 
in  a  moment,  had  come  to  her  aid,  with  Dr.  Brown- 
lee  at  her  side.  In  a  short  time  the  room  was 
buzzing  with  voices,  as  the  guests  entered  into  the 
full  tide  of  conversation. 

Suddenly  the  dining-room  door  swung  open,  and 
Allie  appeared  on  the  threshold. 


106         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

"  Please  come  out  to  supper,  now,"  she  said 
shyly,  as  she  met  her  mother's  surprised  glance. 

There  was  another  pause  of  uncertainty;  then 
Mr.  Everett  offered  his  arm  to  Mrs.  Fisher,  and 
led  the  way  to  the  table,  where  the  guests  seated 
themselves  as  they  wished,  gazing,  meanwhile, 
with  amused  eyes  at  the  feast  before  them.  A 
short  silence  followed,  and  then  the  conversation 
started  up  once  more,  as  Mr.  Fisher,  with  one 
despairing  glance  at  his  wife,  attacked  the  vast  ham 
before  him,  and  Mrs.  Fisher  began  to  pour  out  the 
pale,  watery  effusion  which  filled  the  teapot.  Allie 
and  Marjorie  were  already  bestirring  themselves  to 
pass  the  plates  and  cups  about  the  table ;  but  all 
at  once  Marjorie  paused  abruptly,  with  her  arm 
outstretched,  as  she  gazed  blankly  this  way  and 
that.  Then  her  face  grew  red  and  the  sudden  tears 
rushed  to  her  eyes,  as  she  hurried  out  of  the  room, 
with  a  gesture  to  Allie  to  follow  her. 

"What  is  it,  Marjorie?"  Allie  exclaimed  in 
aiarm,  as  the  young  hostess  sank  down  into  the 
wood  box  and  buried  her  face  in  her  hands. 

An  inarticulate  moan  was  her  only  answer. 

"  Marjorie  !  Marjorie  !  "  she  urged  again.  "  Tell 
me  what's  the  matter.  Are  you  ill?" 

Then  Marjorie  raised  her  head  for  a  moment. 


MARJORIE'S  PARTY.  107 

"  I  'm  all  right,'  she  said,  with  a  great  sob  of 
shame;  "but  what  shall  we  do,  Allie?  We  ate 
up  all  the  bread  for  breakfast,  and  I  forgot  to  order 
any  more." 

It  was  late  that  evening  when  the  guests  took 
their  leave ;  and,  as  they  went  away  down  the 
street  together,  they  said,  over  and  over  again, 
that  Mrs.  Fisher  had  never  before  been  half  so 
bright  and  witty  in  her  talk,  so  quick  to  plan  new 
modes  of  entertainment.  Their  hostess  watched 
them  out  of  sight;  then,  after  an  expressive  look 
at  her  husband,  she  turned  away  from  the  door, 
and  crossed  the  hall  to  Marjorie's  room.  All  was 
dark  within,  as  she  opened  the  door  and  entered ; 
but,  as  soon  as  her  eyes  had  grown  accustomed  to 
the  gloom,  she  went  up  to  the  bed,  and  laid  her 
hand  on  a  small,  dark  body,  curled  up  on  the  white 
spread. 

"  Marjoric,  dear,"  she  said  gently. 

The  childish  figure  was  quivering  with  suppressed 
sobs ;  but  there  was  no  other  answer. 

"  Marjorie,"  she  said  again ;  "  don't  feel  so  badly 
about  it,  my  child." 

The  tone  of  motherly  sympathy  was  too  much 
for  Marjorie's  self-control,  and  the  tears  began  to 
come,  thick  and  fast. 


108         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

"  O  mamma,"  she  cried  ;  "  truly  we  didn't  mean 
to.  I'm  so  sorry." 

Mrs.  Fisher  sat  down  on  the  side  of  the  bed,  and 
drew  her  daughter  towards  her. 

"  Don't  cry  so,  Marjorie,"  she  repeated.  "  I 
know  you  didn't  mean  to  do  anything  out  of  the 
way.  Tell  me  how  you  came  to  ask  all  these  peo 
ple  here." 

Between  her  sobs,  Marjorie  told  her  mother  the 
whole  story;  and  Mrs.  Fisher  rejoiced  that  the 
kindly  darkness  hid  her  smile,  as  she  listened  to 
her  little  daughter's  incoherent  explanation  of  the 
party  and  its  cause. 

"  And  I  meant  it  should  all  be  so  nice,"  Mar 
jorie  ended,  with  a  fresh  burst  of  tears ;  "  and  it 
was  just  dreadful.  I  forgot  the  bread,  and  the 
candles.,  wouldn't  burn,  and  nobody  knew  Dr. 
Brownlee,  and  everything  was  horrid.  Scold  me, 
if  you  want  to ;  but  I  truly  meant  to  give  you  a 
good  time,  only  it  all  went  wrong." 

"  Marjorie,  dear,"  her  mother  said,  when  she 
could  steady  her  voice  enough  to  speak ;  "  I  know 
you  meant  to  make  me  have  a  happy  birthday,  and 
I  am  grateful  to  my  little  girl  for  taking  so  much 
pains  for  me.  Another  time  we  will  talk  it  over 
together,  and  plan  the  best  thing  to  do,  instead  of 


MARJORIE'S  PARTY.  109 

your  trying  to  surprise  me.  And  now  forget  all 
about  the  worry  of  it,  and  only  remember  that 
you  Ve  done  what  you  could  to  make  the  day 
pleasant  for  me."  And  she  bent  over  for  a  good 
night  kiss,  before  she  returned  to  the  kitchen  for  a 
long  hour  of  dish-washing  and  putting  the  room 
-to  rights. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

JANEY'S  PROPHECY. 

"  GlT  up  in  de  mawnin'  singin',  an'  de  cat  cotch 
you  befo'  night,"  Janey  had  said  oracularly,  when 
Allie  ran  out  into  the  kitchen,  that  morning  before 
breakfast,  with  the  refrain  of  one  of  Charlie's  songs 
upon  her  lips. 

"  What  nonsense,  Janey !  "  said  Allie,  laughing 
at  the  strange,  old-time  saying.  "  I  don't  believe 
the  cat  '11  '  cotch '  me  any  more  for  singing,  and 
it 's  ever  so  much  more  fun  than  't  is  to  cry." 

In  fact,  there  was  no  particular  reason  that  Allie 
should  not  sing,  for  life  looked  very  attractive  to 
her  that  morning.  The  bright  June  sunshine  was 
lying  warm  over  the  town,  and  giving  back  a  daz 
zling  lustre  from- the  snow-capped  mountains  which 
rose  up  from  the  midst  of  the  summer  landscape ; 
lessons  were  over  for  the  present,  and,  best  of  all, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burnam  were  to  go  out  to  camp 
that  day,  to  make  final  arrangements  for  the  long- 
talked-of  week,  when  the  Everetts,  Burnams,  and 
Eishers  were  to  pitch  their  tents  beside  the  cngi- 
110 


JANEY'S  PROPHECY.  1 1 1 

neering  camp,  in  the  Bitter  Root  Mountains,  and 
enjoy  a  week  of  roughing  it  in  the  wilderness. 
Soon  after  breakfast  they  drove  away  from  the 
door,  with  Victor  snugly  tucked  in  between  them, 
while  Allie,  with  the  boys  and  Ben,  stood  on  the 
piazza,  to  wave  them  a  good-by.  The  children 
lingered  there  until  the  wagon  was  out  of  sight; 
then  they  turned  back  into  the  house,  feeling  very 
important  over  the  prospect  of  two  days  of  house 
keeping  on  their  own  account. 

But,  after  all  their  anticipations,  the  morning  did 
not  prove  to  be  quite  as  enjoyable  as  they  had 
hoped  it  would  be.  Marjorie  had  been  invited 
to  spend  the  day  with  them ;  but,  unfortunately, 
Marjorie  was  in  one  of  her  perverse  fits,  and  so 
successfully  devoted  herself  to  the  task  of  being 
disagreeable  that  Allie  was  at  her  wits'  end  how 
to  manage  her;  Howard  openly  quarrelled  with 
her,  and  even  Charlie,  the  courteous,  marched 
out  of  the  room  and  slammed  the  door  behind 
him,  while  he  sang,  with  tantalizing  distinctness, — 

"  '  (3h,  jimineddy  !  And  oh,  goody  gracious  ! 

How  I  did  love  her !     But  she  was  contumacious.'  " 

This  last  insult  was  too  much  for  Marjorie  to 
bear,  for,  in  her  secret  heart,  she  greatly  admired 
Charlie,  and  longed  to  have  him  for  her  ally  and 


112         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

champion,  instead  of  being  forced  to  watch  his 
unswerving  devotion  to  his  cousin.  As  the  door 
closed  behind  him,  she  flew  after  him,  to  deliver 
herself  of  one  parting  shot, — 

"  Charlie  MacGregor,  I  de-test  you  !  You  're 
no  gentleman,  even  if  you  do  think  you  are ;  and 
I  only  hope  you  '11  get  what  you  deserve  for  being 
so  rude  to  me,  when  I  'm  company." 

Then  the  door  banged  again  with  even  greater 
violence  than  before,  and  Marjorie  burst  out 
crying,  as  she  put  on  her  hat  and  departed,  with 
out  a  word  to  Allie. 

Her  irate  guest  once  gone,  Allie  moved  up  and 
down  the  rooms,  putting  them  in  order  with  much 
the  same  dazed  feeling  as  that  which  comes  in  the 
sudden  hush  that  sometimes  follows  a  violent 
thunder-shower.  The  more  she  pondered  on  the 
events  of  the  morning,  she  could  not  see  that 
either  she  herself  or  the  two  boys  were  in  any 
way  to  blame  for  Marjorie's  explosion,  and  as  she 
forlornly  sat  down  to  the  lunch  table,  she  felt  as 
if  she  were  in  part  realizing  the  truth  of*Janey's 
prediction.  However,  she  was  too  much  accus 
tomed  to  Marjorie's  sudden  fits  of  temper,  and  too 
well  acquainted  with  her  really  kind  heart,  to 
dwell  long  upon  the  matter;  so  before  the  meal 


JANEY'S  PROPHECY.  113 

was  ended  she   was  gayly  laughing  with  the  boys, 
and  planning  for  the  next  day's  frolic. 

"  Come  out  and  have  a  ride,  Allie,"  urged  Charlie, 
as  they  left  the  table.  "  I  have  a  kind  of  a  sort  of 
a  feeling  that  I  'm  in  disgrace,  and  I  want  some  fun 
to  console  me.." 

Allie  laughed. 

"  How  silly  you  are  to  mind  what  Marjorie 
says  !  "  she  answered.  "  She  '11  be  all  over  it 
by  to-morrow,  and  like  you  better  than  ever;  I 
know  just  how  angelic  she  always  is,  after  one  of 
these  times.  But  if  you  want  a  ride,  I  '11  be  ready 
in  an  hour.  I  Ve  promised  to  write  a  letter  for 
Janey,  first." 

"  To  his  Goatship  ? "  inquired  Howard  disre 
spectfully.  "  All  right ;  we  '11  go  out  and  play 
ball  till  time  to  get  the  ponies."  And  they 
went  away,  while  Allie  stood  in  the  door,  saucily 
calling  after  them  to  be  good  boys  and  not  get 
into  mischief. 

"  Now,  Janey,"  she  said,  as  she  went  out  into 
the  kitchen  ;  "  I  '11  write  that  letter  for  you  before 
you  wash  the  dishes  or  anything;  because  Mr. 
Charlie  wants  me  to  go  to  ride  with  him,  as  soon 
as  I  can."  And  she  seated  herself  at  the  table, 
while  Janey  went  after  her  writing  materials. 


114         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

"How  you  done  like  my  paper,  Miss  Allie?" 
the  girl  asked  proudly,  as  she  laid  upon  the 
table  a  sheet  of  vivid,  rose-colored  paper,  and  its 
accompanying  envelope,  which  brought  with  them 
an  aggressive  fragrance  of  musk.  Then  she  dropped 
down  on  the  floor  behind  her  young  mistress,  coil 
ing  herself  up  in  the  corner,  with  her  back  against 
the  wall,  that  she  might  dictate  at  her  ease. 

"  My  dear  frien',"  she  began  slowly,  and  with 
the  air  of  searching  her  mind  for  properly  sono 
rous  phrases  ;  "  I  have  done  receive  your  letter, 
an'  I  take  my  pen  in  han'  to  now  reply.  I  was 
very  glad  to  know  dat  you  is  well,  an'  I  am 
sorry  to  say  I  am  not;  I  think  I  have  de  con 
sumption  "  — 

"  Why,  Janey,"  interposed  Allie  ;  "  what  do  you 
mean?  Aren't  you  well?  " 

"  Yes,  I 's  well  enough,"  answered  Janey,  as  she 
shot  a  sudden  mischievous  glance  from  the  corners 
of  her  downcast  eyes ;  "  but  I  reckon  he  '11  think 
more  of  me,  ef  he  thinks  I  's  goin'  to  die.  I  am 
not  very  happy,"  she  resumed,  in  the  same  stilted 
tone  as  before;  "  an'  las'  night  you  came  to  me  in 
a  dream,  an'  tol'  me  you  was  dead.  I  done  specks 
he  '11  cry  like  everything,  when  he  reads  dat,"  she 
interpolated,  with  a  nod  of  triumph.  "  Sometimes 


JANEY' s  PROPHECY.  115 

I  reckon  we  sha'n'  never  see  each  other  no  mo' ; 
but  you  mus'  never  forget  your  Janey.  Um-mm," 
she  went  on,  in  an  inarticulate  mumble. 

"What?"  inquired  Allie,  pausing,  with  her  pen 
in  mid  air,  as  she  turned  around  to  see  Janey  with 
her  cap  off,  a  row  of  hairpins  between  her  lips, 
and  a  pair  of  gleaming  scissors  raised  to  one  of  her 
woolly  tails. 

There  was  a  sudden  sound  of  snipping  steel,  and 
then  Janey  continued,  — 

"  I  sen'  you  a  plat  of  my  hair,  an'  I  wants  you 
to  sen'  me  one  of  yours  ;  an'-an-'  '  Janey  hesitated, 
while  she  put  on  her  cap  once  more. 

"Well,  what  next?"  asked  Allie,  secretly  won 
dering,  as  she  glanced  at  the  sable  tress  before  her, 
why  each  could  not  retain  his  own  hair,  since  the 
two  locks  would  probably  be  so  much  alike  that 
only  the  keen  eye  of  an  expert  or  a  lover  could 
distinguish  between  them. 

"  So  no  mo'  now,"  dictated  Janey.  "  Give  my 
love  to  Emma  Digson,  an'  Joe  Harrison,  an'  my 
mother,  an'  tell  little  Bill  he  mus'  be  a  good  boy, 
an'  tell  Sarah  Johnson  "  —  Here  followed  a  list  of 
greetings  and  messages,  as  long  as  those  at  the  end 
of  the  Pauline  epistles. 

Allie  was   still  toiling   her  way    through  them, 


Il6  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

making  conscientious  attempts  to  discover  the 
proper  spelling  of  names,  when  she  heard  the  front 
door  open  and  shut.  A  moment  later,  Howard 
appeared  in  the  kitchen,  very  pale  and  with  trem 
bling  lips. 

"  Come  here  a  minute,  Allie,"  he  said,  in  a  tone 
of  command  so  unlike  his  usual  manner  that  his 
sister  started  up  at  the  first  word. 

"What  is  it?"  she  demanded  hastily.  "What 
do  you  want  of  me  ?  " 

But  Howard  had  already  hurried  back  to  the 
parlor.  She  followed  him,  with  a  dull,  cold  feeling 
about  her  heart,  as  she  became  more  and  more 
convinced  that  there  was  some  trouble.  As  she 
reached  the  parlor  door,  she  drew  back,  for  a 
moment,  in  alarm.  On  the  sofa  lay  Charlie,  with 
his  handkerchief  tied  over  the  upper  part  of  his 
face,  and  his  cheeks  and  lips  as  white  as  Howard's 
had  been.  The  next  instant  she  sprang  forward 
to  his  side,  crying,  — 

"O  Charlie,  what  has  happened?  Are  you 
hurt?  What  is  it?" 

With  a  strong  effort,  the  boy  steadied  his  voice 
enough  to  say  quietly,  as  he  stretched  out  his 
hand  towards  the  spot  where  he  had  heard  her 
drop  down  on  her  knees  beside  the  sofa, — 


JANEY'S  PROPHECY.  117 

11 T  isn't  much,  Allie ;  so  don't  get  rattled. 
Howard '11  tell  you  about  it."  And  he  paused 
abruptly,  biting  his  lip  to  keep  from  crying  out 
with  pain. 

"  We  were  playing  ball,  and  Charlie  went  to 
catch.  He  muffed,  somehow,  and  the  ball  hit  .him 
in  the  eye ;  it  smashed  his  glasses,  and  they  Ve 
cut  his  eyes  some,"  explained  Howard,  in  a  hurried, 
breathless  tone,  while  he  tramped  nervously  up  and 
down  the  room. 

"What  can  we  do?  If  mamma  were  only  here, 
Howard  !  Is  it  very  bad,  Charlie  ?  "  And  for  a 
moment  Allie's  head  dropped  beside  her  cousin's, 
while  she  shook  with  sobs  of  mingled  pity  and  fear. 
Then  she  started  up  again,  to  force  back  her  tears 
as  she  said,  with  all  the  pride  and  energy  of  the 
MacGregors  in  her  firm,  clear  voice,  — 

"  Howard,  don't  rush  round  so ;  you  '11  only 
make  Charlie  worse.  It  may  not  be  so  bad ;  but 
you  go,  quick  as  you  can,  for  Dr.  Brownlee.  Run 
every  single  step  of  the  way,  and  don't  you  come 
back  without  him." 

For  an  instant,  Howard  stared  admiringly  at  the 
determined  little  figure  before  him  ;  then  he  rushed 
away,  glad  to  get  out  of  sight,  where  he  could  rub 
the  tears  off  from  his  cheeks,  and  feeling  an  imme- 


Il8         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

diate  relief  in  the  need  for  prompt  action.  Twenty 
minutes  later  he  came  back,  accompanied  by  the 
doctor,  whom  he  had  met  on  the  street,  not  far 
from  his  office. 

As  Allie  rose  from  her  place  beside  the  sofa,  she 
was  filled  with  a  momentary  dislike  of  this  hand 
some,  well-dressed  young  man,  with  the  red  carna 
tion  in  his  button-hole,  who  came  into  the  room 
with  a  sort  of  quiet  briskness,  and  addressed  a  half- 
laughing  remark  of  greeting  to  Charlie.  But  as 
she  watched  him,  she  soon  realized  that  there  was 
nothing  unsympathetic  in  his  cheerfulness ;  and 
she  felt  a  quick  trust  in  him,  when  she  looked  up 
into  his  kind  gray  eyes,  while  he  bent  over  Charlie 
and  took  the  handkerchief  from  his  face.  An 
older  person  would  have  read  much  from  the  sud 
den  frown  which  passed  across  his  forehead ;  but 
Allie  failed  to  catch  it,  and  was  cheered  by  his  next 
words,  — 

"  Only  a  scratch  or  two,  and  a  little  cut.  We  '11 
patch  you  up  soon,  my  boy,  so  you  needn't  worry. 
There  's  a  little  glass  left  here,  though,  that  we  want 
to  get  out  of  the  way,  first  of  all.  You  say  your 
parents  are  away?"  he  asked,  turning  to  Allie. 
"  Do  you  suppose  you  can  help  me  a  little ;  or  are 
you  afraid?  " 


JANEY'S  PROPHECY.  119 

Allic's  cheeks  grew  white  at  the  thought ;  and 
the  doctor,  as  he  watched  her,  added  kindly,  — 

"  Or  perhaps  your  brother"  — 

But  Howard  had  fled,  to  shut  himself  up  in  his 
mother's  room.  Allie  could  hear  him  moving 
restlessly  about,  behind  the  closed  door. 

"  I  '11  help  if  I  can,"  she  said  bravely,  though  her 
rigid  lips  would  scarcely  form  the  words ;  and  she 
dropped  her  hand  on  Charlie's  cold  fingers,  to  feel 
them  close  around  it,  with  a  grateful  pressure,  as 
the  doctor  said  approvingly,  — 

"  That 's  a  brave  girl !  Now,  has  your  mother 
anything  that  I  could  use  for  bandages  ?  " 

Allie  hurried  away  in  search  of  the  great 
"  emergency  basket,"  which  her  mother  always 
kept  well  stocked  with  rolls  of  old  cotton  and  linen 
and  flannel.  The  doctor  gave  a  quick  nod  of 
pleasure,  as  he  saw  the  orderly  store. 

"  Good  !  "  he  said,  as  if  to  himself;  "  that  tells 
the  story.  I  wish  more  women  would  look  out  for 
such  things.  Now,"  he  went  on,  while  he  drew  a 
chair  to  the  window,  and  laid  a  little  case  of  shin 
ing,  ugly-looking  instruments  on  a  table  beside  it ; 
"  we  must  get  rid  of  that  glass  as  soon  as  we  can ;  and 
I  want  you,  little  woman,  to  hold  this  boy's  head 
tight,  very  tight,  so  he  can't  move,  no  matter  how 


120         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

much  I  do  hurt  him.  Any  slip  now  would  be  very 
serious." 

There  followed  a  short  interval  of  silence,  when 
Charlie  ground  his  teeth  hard  together,  to  keep 
back  any  sound,  and  Allie  sturdily  held  her  place  at 
the  back  of  his  chair,  though  she  felt  faint  and  sick 
at  the  sight  before  her,  as  those  horrible  little 
steel  points  moved  up  and  down  across  her  cous 
in's  eye.  Then  the  doctor  spoke  again,  in  his 
cheery,  pleasant  way,  while  he  adjusted  the  neces 
sary  bandages ;  but  to  Allie  his  voice  sounded  a 
long  way  off,  and  she  dropped  to  the  floor  in  a 
forlorn  little  heap,  as  soon  as  she  received  the 
doctor's  nod  to  assure  her  that  her  work  was 
ended. 

"  You  're  a  plucky  pair,"  said  Dr.  Brownlee  then, 
as  he  led  the  boy  back  to  the  sofa,  and  arranged 
a  pillow  under  his  head.  "  I  don't  know  which  has 
been  braver,  but  I  'm  proud  of  you  both.  The 
worst  is  over  now ;  but  we  want  to  get  this  boy 
into  bed,  where  he  can  keep  quiet  for  a  day  or  two. 
I  wish  we  could  send  word  to  your  mother ;  but  I 
suppose  that  is  out  of  the  question,  so  we  shall 
have  to  get  along  without  her.  Still,  you  Ve  a 
good  nurse  here,  Charlie,"  he  added,  with  an  ad 
miring  glance  at  Allie,  who  had  roused  herself  once 


JANEY'S  PROPHECY.  121 

more  and  was  standing  by  the  sofa,  with  one  slen 
der  hand  resting  on  her  cousin's  forehead. 

"  Shall  I  get  his  room  ready?  "  she  asked,  as  her 
blue  eyes  filled  with  tears  again ;  for  the  doctor's 
kind  words  were  too  much  for  her  shaken  nerves 
to  bear. 

"  Yes,  he  '11  be  better  there,"  the  doctor  answered, 
as  he  followed  her  into  the  room  which  the  two 
boys  usually  occupied.  "  A  southwest  corner 
room,"  he  said,  glancing  around  it.  "  That 's  too 
strong  a  light;  isn't  there  somewhere  else?  " 

"  Mine  is  on  the  other  side,"  she  suggested. 

"  That 's  better ;  but  what  will  you  do,  my  young 
nurse  ?  "  he  asked  with  the  gentle  courtesy  which 
was  habitual  with  him. 

"  I  '11  take  the  sofa,  or  anywhere,"  she  said,  as 
she  led  the  way  into  her  own  dainty  little  room. 
"  He  can  have  this  to  himself,  too  ;  and  Howard  is 
in  the  other.  I  truly  don't  mind  a  bit  being  turned 
out."  She  paused  and  glanced  over  her  shoulder 
to  make  sure  that  the  door  was  shut.  "  Is  it  very 
bad,  Dr.  Brownlee  ? "  she  asked,  in  a  frightened 
whisper. 

"  I  can't  tell  yet;  but  I  hope  not,"  the  doctor 
said  reassuringly.  "  Now,  little  woman,  listen  to 
me.  Your  cousin  will  have  to  be  shut  up  here  in 


122         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

the  dark  for  a  good  many  days,  and  your  mother 
will  be  away  till  to-  morrow  night.  I  might  send  for 
somebody  to  come  and  stay  with  you  ;  but  it  would 
only  frighten  Charlie,  so  I  am  going  to  leave  him 
in  your  care,  instead.  You  've  just  been  doing 
splendidly  with  him ;  and  he 's  used  to  you,  and 
likes  to  have  you  round  him.  Now,  do  you  sup 
pose  you  can  see  to  him  till  bedtime,  and  through 
the  day  to-morrow?  A  great  deal,  much  more 
than  you  know,  depends  on  his  being  kept  quiet 
and  content,  without  any  worry.  I  will  come  back 
this  evening,  and  sleep  on  the  sofa  here,  where  I 
can  look  out  for  him  through  the  night.  Do  you 
think  you  can  do  it?  " 

"  I  will,"  answered  Allie,  as  solemnly  as  if  she 
had  been  taking  her  marriage  vows. 

The  doctor  studied  her  face  intently.  Such  a 
little  thing,  a  happy,  rollicking  child  !  But,  in  the 
past  hour,  she  had  shown  herself  a  woman,  in  the 
courage  and  tenderness  which  her  love  for  her 
cousin  had  given  her.  He  felt  that  he  could  trust 
her,  even  in  such  a  critical  case  as  this.  But,  as 
he  looked  down  at  the  wistful,  white  face,  and  the 
drawn  lips  which  yet  made  no  complaint  of  weak 
ness  or  of  fear,  some  sudden  impulse  made  him 
stoop  and  lift  her  hand  to  his  lips. 


JANEY'S  PROPHECY.  123 

"  I  am  glad  to  bend  the  knee  before  so  brave 
and  true  a  lady,"  he  said,  with  assumed  lightness  to 
mask  his  real  feeling.  "  I  hope  the  time  may  come 
when  I  shall  be  able  to  prove  how  gladly  I  would 
serve  her." 

"  Cure  Charlie's  eye,  then,"  she  answered,  with 
quaint,  serious  directness. 

"  My  dear  little  girl,  I  will  if  I  can,"  he  replied 
gravely. 

Then  he  turned  away,  to  close  the  blinds,  draw 
down  the  shades,  and  pull  together  the  heavy  cur 
tains,  until  the  room  lay  in  deep  shadow.  At  sight 
of  these  ominous  preparations,  Allie's  fear  came 
back  to  her. 

"  Oh,  must  he  stay  like  this,  all  in  the  dark  ?  "  she 
cried,  in  a  sudden  terror  of  she  knew  not  what. 

"  For  a  little  while,"  answered  the  doctor,  his 
voice  sounding  brisk  and  cherry  again,  through  the 
thick  darkness.  "  We  '11  try  not  to  have  it  last  any 
longer  than  we  can  help.  Now,"  he  went  on 
kindly,  "  if  you  '11  go  out  in  the  sunshine  and  take 
a  little  run,  while  you  get  quieted  down,  I  '11  help 
Charlie  into  bed.  Then  I  shall  leave  him  in  your 
hands." 

But  Allie  was  in  no  mood  for  sunshine,  She 
paused  for  one  moment  beside  her  cousin,  without 


124         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

daring  to  trust  her  voice  to  speak ;  then  she  fled 
to  the  kitchen,  and  cast  herself  into  Janey's  arms, 
to  cry  as  if  her  young  heart  were  breaking. 

"  Miss  Allie,  honey,"  Janey  begged  her;  "  what 
is  it?  Tell  Janey  what's  de  matter.  Don'  cry  so, 
Miss  Allie,  don't." 

Allie  was  past  heeding  her  words.  It  had  taken 
all  her  courage  and  self-control  to  go  through  the 
last  hour,  and,  now  that  she  could  have  a  moment 
to  herself,  she  could  only  cling  to  Janey  and  sob 
with  a  bitterness  which  brought  the  sympathetic 
tears  into  the  dark  eyes  above  her. 

"  What  is  it,  honey?"  asked  Janey  again,  as  the 
child  grew  more  quiet. 

"Oh,  Janey,  it's  Mr.  Charlie!"  And  Allie's 
head  went  over  against  the  girl's  shoulder  once 
more. 

Janey  looked  pityingly  down  into  the  swollen, 
flushed  face  before  her.  Then  she  seated  herself 
in  a  chair,  and  gathering  up  the  child  in  her  strong, 
young  arms,  she  rocked  gently  to  and  fro  without 
speaking,  while  Allie  sobbed  out  the  story  of  the 
accident.  When  she  paused,  the  girl's  brown 
cheek  lay,  for  a  moment,  against  the  soft,  thick 
hair,  in  an  unspoken  caress;  then  she  said  cheer- 
fully,  — 


JANEY'S  PROPHECY.  125 

"  Now,  Miss  Allie,  dear,  it 's  too  bad,  and  Janey  's 
sorry  for  you  all.  But  jus'  you  dry  up  your  eyes, 
an'  don'  cry  no  mo'.  Mars'  Charlie  's  too  good  a 
boy  for  de  Lord  to  give  him  very  bad  time,  an' 
't  won't  be  long  befo'  he  's  all  right  again.  Janey 's 
awful  sorry  for  you ;  but  you  jus'  try  to  keep  jolly, 
for  his  'count,  an'  your  ma  will  be  home  to-mor 
row.  It'll  all  come  out  for  de  bes',"  she  added, 
with  the  simple  faith  of  her  people,  which  some 
how  comforted  Allie,  and  gave  her  new  strength 
to  go  on. 

A  few  minutes  later,  the  doctor  sent  Howard  in 
search  of  his  sister,  and  Allie  was  able  to  go 
quietly  back  into  her  room.  It  looked  strangely 
unfamiliar  to  her;  but  as  her  eyes  became  accus 
tomed  to  the  darkness,  she  gradually  made  out  the 
figure  of  her  cousin,  who  was  lying  in  her  dainty 
bed,  with  broad  white  bandages  covering  his 
eyes. 

"  Is  that  you,  Allie?"  he  asked  eagerly,  as  the 
door  opened.  "  The  doctor  says  you  're  to  look 
out  for  me  to-day,  and  I  'm  no  end  glad  of  it." 

"  Yes,"  said  the  doctor,  from  his  corner  where 
Allie  had  not  yet  seen  him ;  "  you  couldn't  have  a 
better  nurse.  Now,"  he  added,  after  giving  her  a 
few  simple  directions,  "  I  shall  be  back  early  this 


126  IN  BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

evening,  and,  till  then,  you  're  in  charge.  All  you 
have  to  do,"  he  went  on,  as  Allie  followed  him  to 
the  door,  "  is  to  wait  on  him,  and  see  that  the  light 
doesn't  get  to  him.  You  can  talk  to  him,  just  as 
you  always  do,  only  be  a  little  quiet.  Above  all, 
don't  let  him  get  to  thinking  about  his  eye,  for  he 
mustn't  worry.  Good-by." 

He  left  her  to  go  back  into  her  cousin's  room, 
while  he  went  down  the  street,  saying  to  him 
self,  — 

"  I  wish  I  could  often  get  as  plucky  a  patient 
and  nurse.  But  I  'd  give  a  good  deal  if  I  had  a 
first-class  oculist  in  town  to-night ;  I  don't  like  the 
looks,  up  there." 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

IN   THE   DARK. 

OFTEN  and  often,  during  the  next  few  weeks, 
Allie  recalled  the  conversation  which  had  taken 
place  between  herself  and  Marjorie,  months  before  ; 
for  Charlie's  time  had  come  to  prove  his  ability  to 
bear  trouble  and  suffering  as  bravely  as  a  boy 
could  do. ,  Early  on  the  afternoon  following  the 
accident,  Dr.  Brownlee  had  saddled  his  horse  and 
ridden  away  to  meet  Mrs.  Burnam,  and  prepare 
her  for  the  new  care  awaiting  her ;  but  it  was  not 
until  the  next  day  that  he  told  her  of  his  real  fear, 
the  danger  that  the  injured  eye  might  become  so 
seriously  inflamed  that  its  sight  would  be'destroyed. 
How  Howard  and  Allie  found  it  out,  it  would  be 
impossible  to  say  ;  but,  before  the  day  was  over,  they 
knew  the  secret,  and  hovered  about  their  cousin 
with  an  anxious  care,  the  real  cause  of  which  he 
understood  as  little  as  he  did  that  of  the  doctor's 
extreme  gentleness  of  voice  and  touch,  when  he 
came,  morning  and  night,  to  examine  the  wound 
and  renew  the  bandages. 
127 


128         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

It  was  a  hard  experience  for  the  boy,  for  there 
were  long  days  of  sickening,  throbbing  pain,  that 
darted  up  and  down  about  his  eye,  and  painted 
strange,  lurid  pictures  against  the  darkness  of  his 
closed  lids.  Then  came  the  time  when  he  was 
allowed  to  sit  up  once  more,  and  to  wander  clum 
sily  about  his  narrow  quarters,  bruising  himself  by 
frequent  collisions  with  the  unseen  furniture,  until 
Allie's  heart  ached  for  him,  and  she  longed  to  tear 
away  the  bandages,  and  let  him  have  one  short 
hour  of  daylight  again.  His  piano  was  his  main 
solace  in  these  days,  for  Mrs.  Burnam  had  had  it 
moved  into  his  room,  and  he  amused  himself  with 
it  for  long  hours  at  a  time,  when  his  cousins  were 
busy,  or  away  from  home.  Of  course  he  grum 
bled  a  little  at  times,  as  any  healthy  boy  would  do; 
of  course  he  had  hours  of  being  undeniably  cross; 
but,  for  the  most  part,  he  showed  a  quiet  endur 
ance  which  won  the  admiration  of  all  his  friends. 

But,  little  by  little,  as  the  danger  passed,  his 
privileges  increased,  and  he  was  free  to  make  daily 
excursions  out  into  the  parlor,  which  was  dark 
ened  for  his  use,  and  to  receive  short  calls  from  the 
Everetts  and  Marjorie.  Allie  had  been  his  con 
stant  companion  in  these  weeks,  entertaining  him, 
leading  him  about  the  room,  and  even  feeding  him 


IN  THE   DARK.  129 

the  meals  which  Mrs.  Burnam  and  Janey  prepared 
so  daintily.  Then,  at  length,  came  the  great  day 
when  the  bandage  was  taken  off,  to  be  replaced 
by  a  shade,  and  only  resumed  for  the  hour  when 
Allie  was  to  be  allowed  to  lead  him  up  and  down 
the  sunny  piazza.,  and  out  along  the  street  for 
daily-increasing  distances.  For  Charlie,  all  this 
was  like  coming  back  into  life  once  more.  In 
spite  of  the  darkness  of  his  room,  he  could  yet 
see  the  dim  outlines  of  objects  in  his  narrow  line 
of  vision,  and  grope  his  way  about  without  being 
dependent  upon  his  cousins  for  his  every  need ; 
and  after  a  month  of  perfect  helplessness,  even  this 
was  a  relief,  and  he  accepted  it  gratefully. 

And,  after  all,  dark  as  the  days  were,  they  yet 
had  their  bright  spots.  In  his  constant  visits,  the 
doctor  had  quite  won  Charlie's  heart  with  his 
lively  talk  and  fun,  until  the  boy  found  himself 
eagerly  looking  forward  to  the  next  call,  and  won 
dering  what  fresh  interest  his  new  friend  had  in 
store  for  him.  For  the  doctor,  true  to  the  instincts 
of  his  profession,  knew  so  well  how  to  cover  his 
real  anxiety  under  his  gay,  light  manner,  that  his 
young  patient  had  no  idea  of  the  possible  danger 
of  his  case,  and  only  regarded  it  as  a  tedious, 
painful  wound  which  would  soon  heal. 


I3O         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

"  I  am  getting  most  awfully  sick  of  this,  though," 
he  said  one  day,  after  the  doctor  had  gone.  "  It 's 
a  shame  to  be  losing  all  this  jolly  weather,  and  I  Ve 
forgotten  how  everything  looks.  Dr.  Brownlee  is  a 
first-rate  man ;  but  he  needn't  make  such  a  fuss 
over  a  scratch.  I  say,  Allie,  let's  run  away  and 
go  for  a  ride  up  the  gulch." 

"  Oh,  wouldn't  I  like  to  !  "  responded  Allie,  with 
a  fervor  which  led  Charlie  to  say  gratefully,  — 

"  I  '11  tell  you  what,  Allie ;  it 's  a  shame  for  you 
to  stay  tucked  up  with  me  in  this  hole.  You  Ve 
stuck  by  me  like  a  Trojan ;  but  I  'm  well  enough 
off  alone.  Go  out  and  have  a  lark ;  I  would  if  I 
could." 

"Sha'n't!"  returned  Allie  composedly.  ''Be 
sides,  there  isn't  anybody  to  lark  with." 

"  Where  are  Marjorie  and  the  boys?  "  demanded 
Charlie,  casting  himself  down  in  the  easy-chair,  and 
turning  to  face  Allie,  as  she  stood  leaning  against 
the  window  curtain. 

"  They  went  fishing  with  Mr.  Everett,  up  the 
canon." 

"  Bother !  "  exclaimed  Charlie  impatiently. 
"  Here  I  am  losing  all  the  fun  ;  and  you  're  so 
silly,  you  won't  go  without  me,  when  you  could,  as 
well  as  not.  That 's  just  like  a  girl." 


IN  THE   DARK.  I  3  I 

"  Now,  Charlie,  you  just  keep  your  temper," 
said  Allie  laughingly,  while  she  covered  his  mouth 
with  her  hand.  "  If  you  say  anything  more  that's 
saucy,  I  '11  go  off  and  never  come  back.  I  didn't 
want  to^go  io-day ;  it 's  too  warm.  Besides,  we '11 
make  up  for  all  this  when  we  go  into  camp." 

11  Are  we  really  going ?  I  thought 'twas  given 
up."  And  Charlie  started  up  with  quick  enthu 
siasm. 

"  Yes,  the  plans  are  all  made,  and  we 're  only 
waiting  for  you  to  be  able  to  go.  We  're  going  to 
be  gone  two  weeks,  and"  —Allie  paused,  before 
imparting  her  final  bit  of  good  news  —  "  papa  has 
asked  Dr.  Brownlee  to  go  too." 

"  How  jolly  !  "  Charlie  exclaimed  rapturously. 

"Isn't  it?  The  doctor  didn't  want  you  to  get 
where  he  couldn't  see  to  you ;  and  we  all  like  him 
so  much  that  papa  said  this  was  the  best  thing  to 
do,  so  we  're  going  to  start  the  very  first  day  you 
are  able." 

"When  does  he  say  'twill  be?"  asked  the  boy 
eagerly. 

Allie  hesitated.  This  part  of  her  news  was  not 
so  pleasant,  for  since  the  first  danger  was  over  and 
Charlie  was  allowed  to  be  up  and  about  the  room, 
she  knew  that  he  was  restless,  and  longing  to  be 


132         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

out  with  the  boys,  enjoying  his  old  free  life  once 
more. 

"Well,"  he  urged  again,  "  when  can  we  go?" 

"  Not  for  three  or  four  weeks,"  she  said  gently, 
as  her  hand  fell  down  from  his  face,  and  rested  on 
his  shoulder  with  a  little  caressing  gesture. 

The  boy  needed  all  her  sympathy,  for  his  dis 
appointment  was  keen.  The  prospect  of  a  month 
more  of  an  existence  like  that  of  the  past  three 
weeks  was  too  much  for  his  courage  ;  and,  shaking 
off  her  hand,  he  rose  and  tramped  up  and  down 
the  room,  frowning  and  moody. 

"  I  won't  stand  it !  "  he  exclaimed  suddenly,  as 
he  paused.  "  There 's  no  need  of  it,  Allie,  and 
I  'm  just  not  going  to  stand  another  month  of  it. 
I  '11  risk  my  eyes,  or  let  them  slide ;  but  I  must  get 
out  of  this  stuffy  old  room  inside  of  a  week,  or  I  '11 
know  the  reason  why." 

But  his  temper  was  always  short-lived,  and  he 
was  soon  his  old  bright  self  again.  That  night  he 
was  cheered  by  hearing  the  doctor  say  that  he 
might  go  out  into  the  parlor  to  see  Ned  and  Grant 
for  an  hour  in  the  morning. 

From  that  time  on,  his  days  began  to  pass  more 
quickly.  With  Ned  and  Marjorie  at  their  he-ad, 
the  young  people  showed  unlimited  patience  and 


IN   THE    DARK.  133 

ingenuity  in  planning  new  amusements  for  their 
friend ;  and  not  a  day  passed  that  they  did  not 
descend  upon  him  in  a  body,  laden  with  offerings 
of  fruit  and  flowers,-  trophies  of  their  fishing  expe 
ditions,'  and  bits  of  gay  gossip  from  mine  and 
smelter,  choir  and  Chinatown. 

Marjorie,  in  particular,  was  his  devoted  slave. 
For  the  past  few  weeks,  she  had  been  carrying,  deep 
down  in  her  heart,  a  little  sore  spot,  left  there  by 
the  stinging  memory  of  her  hasty  words  an  hour 
before  the  accident ;  and,  now  that  she  could  see 
her  friend  once  more,  she  did  her  best  to  make 
amends  for  her  past  sins.  But  though  her  endless 
fun  and  rollicking  kindness  gave  Charlie  many  a 
pleasant  hour,  it  was  to  Allie  that  he  turned  in 
any  emergency,  for  her  long  days  of  devotion  to 
him  had  proved  her  a  stanch,  true  friend. 

"Allie  is  a  pretty  good  sort  of  girl,"  he  confided 
to  Ned  one  day.  "  She  's  just  the  kind  to  have 
round  when  you  aren't  well,  for  she  's  jolly,  and 
takes  first-rate  care  of  you,  without  being  soft." 

One  afternoon,  about  three  or  four  weeks  after 
the  accident,  Marjorie  and  the  three  boys  were 
sitting  on  the  little  front  porch  at  the  Everetts', 
reposing  after  a  long  ride.  It  was  a  cool,  cloudy 
day;  the  mist  lay  low  over  the  mountain  sides, 


134         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

and  closed  in  between  the  walls  of  the  canon,  and 
the  wind  blew  up  fresh  and  sharp.  Allic  had 
watched  the  little  group  of  riders  as  they  cantered 
past  the  house  and,  turning  the  corner,  stopped  at 
the  Everetts'.  Then  she  was  seized  with  a  sudden 
inspiration. 

"  Get  up,  lazy  boy,"  she  commanded,  going  into 
her  room  where  Charlie  lay  on  the  sofa,  stretched 
out  at  his  ease,  with  his  arms  folded  under  his 
head.  "  Mamma  's  coming  in  here,  in  a  minute,  to 
put  on  your  blinders,  and  then  let 's  go  down  to  the 
Everetts'  for  an  hour.  They  're  all  down  there, 
and  we  '11  take  them  by  surprise." 

Charlie  started  up  eagerly  enough.  It  was  the 
longest  walk  that  he  had  taken,  and  he  was  glad 
to  get  out  of  his  dull  routine  ;  so,  ten  minutes  later, 
he  was  on  his  way,  with  his  hat  pulled  down  over 
his  face  to  cover  the  ignominious  bandage,  and 
Allie's  hand  on  his  arm. 

Grant  was  the  first  to  see  him  coming. 

"  Hurrah  !  "  he  shouted.  "  There  's  Charlie 
Mac!" 

"Where?  "  exclaimed  Ned,  turning  around  with 
a  suddenness  which  made  him  lose  his  balance,  as 
he  sat  on  the  rail,  and  sent  him  rolling  over  back 
wards  to  the  ground.  He  was  on  his  feet  again  in 


IN  THE   DARK.  135 

a  twinkling,  and  tore  away  up  the  street  to  meet 
his  guest,  and,  usurping  Allic's  place  as  escort, 
bring  him  back  to  the  steps  in  triumph.  "  Sit 
down  here,  old  fellow,"  he  said,  as  he  deposited 
him  in  a  chair,  and  seated  himself  protectingly  on 
the  arm.  "  How  jolly  to  have  you  round  again  !  " 

"  Glad  you  think  so,"  responded  Charlie  ;  "  I  was 
feeling  fine  to-day,  and  Allie  thought  'twould  be  a 
good  scheme  to  come  down  here.  You  can  just 
believe  I  was  ready  for  a  change  of  base." 

The  first  chatter  of  eager  greeting  was  not  yet 
ended,  when  Louise  Everett  appeared  in  the  door 
way  behind  them. 

"  I  must  just  come  out  to  speak  to  Charlie,"  she 
said,  as  she  stepped  forward  to  his  chair.  "  It 's 
so  long  since  I  Ve  seen  you.  No,  don't  get  up," 
she  added  hastily ;  "  you  look  too  comfortable  to 
let  me  disturb  you,  so  I  '11  just  sit  down  on  the 
step  beside  Howard,  if  there  's  room." 

"  Always  room  for  you,  Miss  Lou,"  returned 
Howard  gallantly,  as  he  curled  up  his  feet  so  that 
his  dusty  shoes  should  not  soil  her  fresh,  pink 
gown.  "We've  set  Charlie  up  in  the  middle,  like 
a  Chinese  idol,  and  are  adoring  him." 

"You'd  better  get  Wang  Kum  out  here  to 
help,"  suggested  the  idol  complacently.  "  I  'm 


136         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

afraid  I  'm  not  much  to  look  at,  Miss  Lou ;  but 
fortunately  I  don't  have  to  see  myself  these  days. 
I  leave  it  to  Allie,  to  tell  me  if  my  hair  's  smooth." 

Louise  laughed,  as  she  rested  one  hand  affection 
ately  on  the  girl's  shoulder. 

"  The  doctor  says  she  has  been  a  most  devoted 
Allie ;  and  we  all  think  that  we  haven't  seen  much 
more  of  her  than  of  you,  this  last  month." 

"  I  know  that,  Howard  and  I  aren't  any  account, 
any  longer,"  said  Marjorie,  in  an  injured  tone, 
from  her  seat  on  the  rail.  "  Howard,  which  of 
us  shall  get  broken  to  pieces,  so  the  other  can 
'tend  to  it?" 

"  What's  the  use?  "  returned  Howard  languidly. 
"  Our  noses  are  out  of  joint  now,  and  it  doesn't 
seem  to  do  us  any  good." 

"  Oh,  by  thunder !  "  exclaimed  Grant,  suddenly. 

"  Grant,  dear,  what  words !  "  said  his  sister 
reprovingly. 

"  Can't  help  it,  Lou ;  look  there  !  Dr.  Horn- 
blower  is  coming  down  the  road,  and  I  can  see,  by 
the  northeast  corner  of  his  weather  eye,  that  he  's 
going  to  stop  and  make  us  a  visit." 

"  Dr.  Hornblower?  Do  put  me  out  of  sight 
somewhere,"  begged  Charlie. 

"  What  for?     You  Ve  never  seen  him,  and  he  's 


IN  THE    DARK.  137 

lots  of  fun,"  said  Howard,  without  the  faintest 
appearance  of  respect  for  the  clerical  brother. 

"  I  know,  but  I  'd  rather  meet  him  some  time 
when  I  don't  feel  so  much  like  a  mummy  in  a 
museum,"  urged  Charlie  again.  "  Can't  you  get 
me  out  of  this,  Ned?  " 

"  There  isn't  time,  honestly.  He  's  right  here, 
or  I  would,"  answered  Ned  in  a  low  voice,  as  he 
drew  his  friend's  soft  hat  forward  and  turned  down 
the  brim.  "You're  all  right;  and,  besides,  he 's 
such  an  old  duffer  that  he  won't  notice  anything. 
He  won't  stay  here,  any  way ;  he  comes  to  see 
cousin  Euphemia,  and  help  her  out  when  she  gets 
in  a  tight  place  with  Wang  Kum.  Wang's  been 
cutting  church  lately,  and  most  likely  the  doctor's 
come  to  see  about  it." 

The  Reverend  Gabriel  Hornblower  belonged  to 
the  fast  vanishing  school  of  mossbacks,  or  "  old- 
timers,"  as  they  more  elegantly  termed  themselves, 
the  early  settlers  who  had  watched  the  State  grow 
from  its  first  squatter  population  to  its  present  com 
parative  civilization.  A  mere  boy  in  the  stormy 
days  of  Sixty-three,  he  had  joined  one  of  the  many 
trains  of  ox-teams  which  started  across  the  coun 
try,  on  their  slow,  toilsome  march  to  the  far  West; 
and,  for  the  next  few  years,  his  life  had  been  one 


138         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

of  continual  excitement  and  hardship.  His  father 
and  grandfather  before  him  had  been  ministers ;  so 
it  was  small  wonder  that  Gabriel,  upon  arriving  at 
man's  estate,  should  feel  that  both  his  family  tradi 
tion  and  his  name  had  called  him  to  the  life  of  a 
wandering  preacher  among  the  mining  camps  and 
scattered  ranches  of  the  region,  until  he  had  finally 
settled  clown  to  take  charge  of  the  little  church 
in  Blue  Creek.  He  was  neither  a  great  man,  nor 
an  educated  one.  On  the  contrary,  he  was  igno 
rant  of  any  life  outside  of  his  own  narrow  sphere, 
and  intolerant  of  all  spirit  of  advance  or  change, 
singularly  devoid  of  tact,  but  literal,  honest,  and 
well-meaning.  Moreover,  he  was  absolutely  self- 
satisfied,  but  utterly  lacking  in  the  sense  of  fun 
which  makes  conceited  people  so  much  less  disa 
greeable,  since  it  gives  them  a  glimmering  appre 
ciation  of  their  own  absurdity. 

As  far  as  his  outward  man  was  concerned,  the 
Reverend  Gabriel  Hornblower  was  not  fair  to  look 
upon.  Although  Mrs.  Pennypoker  never  failed  to 
speak  of  him  as  "  old  Dr.  Hornblower,"  in  reality 
he  was  not  far  from  forty-five ;  but  he  looked  a 
score  of  years  older,  for  his  constant  exposure  to 
the  fierce  mountain  gales  and  the  burning  suns  of 
summer  had  tanned  and  dried  him  until  his  com- 


IN   THE   DARK.  139 

plexion  closely  resembled  a  withered  seckel  pear, 
and  his  body  was  as  thin  and  wiry  as  that  of  a 
September  locust  in  a  season  of  famine.  But,  in 
spite  of  his  dull,  yellow-brown  skin,  his  deep-set 
blue  eyes  retained  all  their  old  life  and  sparkle, 
while  his  thick  auburn  hair  was  cut  close  at  the 
back  and  sides  of  his  head,  and  allowed  to  grow 
long  above  his  forehead,  where  it  was  combed  up 
to  form  a  single  curl,  which  ran  straight  across  the 
top  of  his  head,  from  brow  to  crown.  The  pecu 
liar  nature  of  this  curl  had  beguiled  the  time  of 
dreary  sermons  for  many  a  youthful  sinner ;  for, 
like  Melchisedek,  it  appeared  to  have  its  beginning 
and  ending  in  nothing,  and  there  was  a  certain 
fascination  in  tracing  its  placid  course  above  the 
august  forehead.  « 

Approaching  nearer  to  Dr.  Hornblower,  it  was 
easy  to  see  that  he  was  a  close  student,  either 
of  books  or  of  human  nature.  His  habit  of 
profound  thought  had  developed  an  anxious 
frown,  which  had  traced  three  deep  wrinkles 
between  his  eyebrows ;  while,  upon  the  rare 
occasions  when  his  massive  brain  was  at  rest, 
and  his  brow  was  smoothed,  two  narrow  lines 
of  white,  untanned  skin  came  to  the  surface, 
and  gave  his  face  a  little  the  appearance  of  a 
fantastic  mask. 


I4O         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

As  he  drew  near  the  little  group  on  the  steps, 
Louise  courteously  rose  to  greet  him. 

"  Come  in,  Dr.  Hornblower,"  she  said  hospita 
bly.  "  Walk  into  the  parlor,  and  I  '11  call  Mrs. 
Pennypoker." 

"The  doctor  paused  irresolutely,  while  he  looked 
up  into  her  fair  young  face. 

"  Um  —  thank  you,"  he  said  awkwardly.  "I 
will  —  at  least  I  didn't  exactly  come  to  see  Mrs. 
Pennypoker,  this  afternoon.  I  "  — 

"Shall  I  call  Wang  Kum?  "  suggested  Grant, 
with  an  air  of  ready  interest,  as  he  rose  and  moved 
a  step  towards  the  door. 

"  Not  just  now,"  said  the  Reverend  Gabriel 
stiffly.  "Miss  Everett,  may  I  not  have  the  —  the 
pleasure  of  sitting  at  your  feet?  "  And  he  fixed 
his  eyes  on  the  patent-leather  tips  of  her  shoes. 

"  Of  course  we  should  be  very  glad  to  have  you 
with  us,  Dr.  Hornblower,"  returned  Louise,  while 
the  pink  color  in  her  cheeks  grew  a  shade  deeper, 
as  she  heard  an  irrepressible  giggle  from  Marjorie. 
"Ned,  will  you  please  bring  out  another  chair? 
This  is  Charlie  MacGregor,  Dr.  Hornblower,"  she 
added,  as  she  saw  the  doctor's  eyes  turn  inquir 
ingly  in  his  direction. 

"In  —  deed;   the  young  boy  who  was   injured 


IN  THE   DARK.  141 

while  at  play?  How  do  you  do,  Charles?  "  asked 
the  Reverend  Gabriel,  after  pausing  to  contemplate 
the  lad,  who  had  risen  to  his  feet. 

"  Very  much  better,  thank  you,"  replied  Charlie, 
while  Howard  gave  him  a  stealthy  poke  with  his 
foot. 

"Ah?  I  am  glad  to  hear  it,  for  I  have  been 
much  interested  in  your  case.  I  hope  you  are 
properly  thankful  that  there  is  now  some  slight 
possibility  that  your  sight  may  be  restored  to 
you."  . 

"  Take  this  chair,  Dr.  Hornblower,"  interposed 
Louise  hastily,  while  Charlie  turned  an  appealing 
face  towards  his  cousins.  "  It  is  a  long  time  since 
you  have  been  here ;  Mrs.  Pennypoker  was  speak 
ing  of  it  only  yesterday." 

"  Yes,  I  have  been  much  occupied  with  the 
duties  of  my  calling,"  returned  the  Reverend 
Gabriel,  as  he  seated  himself  in  the  low  chair, 
which  brought  his  bony  knees  almost  on  a  level 
with  his  chin.  "  My  time  has  been  engaged  in 
visiting  the  erring  members  of  my  flock ;  and 
now,  to-day,  I  find  that  I  have  an  hour  in  which  to 
call  on  you." 

"  I  hope  you  don't  look  upon  me  as  an  erring 
member,"  Louise  said,  laughing  lightly. 


142         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANOX. 

"  Pardon  me,  my  dear  young  friend,  no ;  you 
are  misapprehending  me,"  answered  the  doctor, 
with  a  stiff-necked  bow  which  sent  Grant  and 
Marjorie  into  the  house  to  laugh  unseen.  "  I 
only  wished  to  state  that "  — 

"  Cousin  Euphemia  will  be  here  in  a  minute, 
Lou,"  interrupted  Ned,  reappearing  in  the  door 
way.  "  She  saw  the  doctor  coming,  and  she  sent 
me  out  to  say  she  'd  be  right  here ;  she  wants  to 
talK  up  something  about  Wang.  Come  on,  Charlie, 
I  want  to  show  you  something  in  the  house." 

"  Really,"  exclaimed  the  discomfited  doctor,  as 
he  looked  beseechingly  at  Louise ;  "  I  had  no 
wish  to  disturb  your  cousin,  Miss  Everett.  I  trust 
that  she  did  not  feel  that  she  ought  to  see  me,  if 
it  is  inconvenient." 

"Not  at  all;  she'll  be  delighted  to  see  you," 
answered  his  young  hostess,  with  a  grateful  glance 
at  her  brother  as  he  disappeared  through  the  open 
door. 

"  There  !  "  said  Ned  triumphantly,  as  the  chil 
dren  settled  themselves  inside  the  parlor.  "  We  '11 
stay  cached  in  here,  out  of  the  way ;  and  maybe 
there  '11  be  some  fun  before  long,  if  Cousin  Euphe 
mia  and  the  doctor  get  after  Wang.  He  's  been  to 
our  church  all  the  time  lately,  ever  since  our  choir 


IN  THE  DARK.  143 

started  up ;  and  Cousin  Euphemia  doesn't  like  it. 
I  just  heard  her  telling  Wang  to  go  out  to  them  as 
soon  as  he  could  get  ready." 

Ned's  suspicions  were  well  founded.  A  few 
moments  later  Wang  Kum  came  shuffling  around 
the  corner  of  the  house,  with  his  hat  cocked  defi 
antly  on  the  back  of  his  head,  and  his  hands 
buried  in  the  pockets  of  his  loose  blue  toga. 

"  How  do  you  do,  Wang  Kum?  "  asked  the  doc 
tor,  benevolently  eyeing  the  stray  lamb  before  him. 

"  Heap  well,"  returned  Wang  Kum  calmly,  as 
he  kept  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  ground,  to  avoid  Mrs. 
Pennypoker's  warning  glance. 

"  I  was  afraid  you  were  ill,"  observed  the  doctor, 
with  an  approving  smile  for  his  own  crafty  manner 
of  approaching  the  subject. 

"  Uh?  "  inquired  Wang  Kum. 

"  I  thought  perhaps  you  might  be  sick,"  re 
peated  the  doctor.  "  I  hadn't  seen  you  at  church 
lately." 

Wang  shook  his  head  contemptuously. 

"  Wang  no  get  sick,"  he  remarked. 

"Then  why  haven't  you  been  to  church?" 
asked  the  doctor. 

But  Wang  Kum  only  replied  with  a  scarcely 
perceptible  shrug. 


144         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

"  Wang,  didn't  you  hear  Dr.  Hornblower  speak 
to  you?"  asked  Mrs.  Pennypoker  sharply. 

Wang  still  stood  gazing  on  the  ground  and  nod 
ding  his  head  in  a  slow,  thoughtful  way  which 
communicated  a  rhythmic  undulation  to  his  pig 
tail.  At  Mrs.  Pennypoker's  question,  he  glanced 
up. 

"  Wang  no  likee  your  church,"  he  answered 
coolly.  "  Pisplykal  church  heap  lot  better  ;  smell 
good,  sound  good."  He  paused,  then  added,  with 
a  cunning  twinkle  in  his  little  dark  eyes,  "  Make 
heap  washee  for  washee-shop."  And,  turning  on 
his  heel,  he  marched  off  towards  the  kitchen,  with 
the  air  of  a  man  who  had  solved  vast  economic 
problems. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

CAMPING   ON  THE   BEAVERHEAD. 

THE  August  sun  was  shining  down  from  a  cloud 
less  sky.  He  had  risen  betimes  that  morning; 
but  he  was  not  the  first  one  up  in  Blue  Creek,  for 
the  dim  light  of  the  dawn  had  found  Ned  and 
Grant  Everett  dressed  and  flying  about  the  house, 
while,  farther  up  the  street,  Marjorie  was  peering 
out  through  the  window  blinds,  to  assure  herself 
that  it  was  to  be  a  pleasant  day.  By  seven  o'clock 
the  Burnams,  too,  were  stirring ;  and  soon  after 
wards  Allie  and  the  boys  appeared  in  the  dining- 
room  at  the  Everetts',  to  exchange  noisy  congrat 
ulations  over  the  fine  weather. 

The  day  had  at  length  come  when  they  were  to 
start  upon  their  long-delayed  camping  trip.  For 
the  past  week,  the  young  people  had  been  in  a 
state  of  ferment,  while  their  elders  were  in  much 
the  same  condition,  even  to  Mrs.  Pennypoker, 
whose  excitement  was  largely  mixed  with  dread 
at  the  thought  of  the  Bohemian  life  before  her. 
The  engineering  camp,  which  they  were  to  join, 


146  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

was  now  pitched  beside  the  Beaverhead  River ;  and 
Mr.  Burnam,  who  had  been  out  with  his  party 
much  of  the  time  since  Charlie's  accident,  had 
come  back  to  Blue  Creek  two  days  before,  an 
nouncing  that  all  was  in  readiness  for  their  recep 
tion  ;  so  the  hour  for  their  departure  was  fixed 
upon.  The  distance  to  the  camp  was  so  great  that 
they  were  to  be  two  days  upon  their  journey, 
spending  the  night  at  a  ranch  on  their  way,  and 
reaching  camp  late  on  the  following  afternoon. 

By  nine  o'clock,  the  party  had  assembled  at  the 
Burnams',  ready  for  the  start.  They  made  an 
imposing  cavalcade  as  they  moved  away  down  the 
street,  for  all  but  the  older  women  were  mounted 
on  horseback.  At  the  head  of  the  procession  rode 
Mr.  Everett,  Mr.  Burnam,  and  Mr.  Fisher,  followed 
closely  by  the  four  boys,  Allie  and  Marjorie,  while 
Louise  Everett,  in  her  close-fitting  dark  green 
habit,  cantered  along  in  the  rear,  with  Dr.  Brown- 
lee  by  her  side.  Then  came  the  three  wagons, 
the  first  driven  by  Wang  Kum,  with  Janey  perched 
up  on  the  high  seat  beside  him,  eyeing  her  com 
panion  askance;  while  Mrs.  Pennypoker,  directly 
behind  them,  watched  them  both  with  an  unswerv 
ing  vigilance,  ready  to  check  any  sign  of  levity  on 
the  part  of  man  or  maid.  Mrs.  Pennypoker  was 


CAMPING   ON  THE   BEAVERIIEAD.  147 

attired  with  all  her  wonted  nicety,  and  her  prim 
black  straw  bonnet  and  decorous  gloves  formed  a 
striking  contrast  to  the  plain  rough-and-ready 
gowns  and  broad  hats  of  the  other  matrons,  who 
were  more  accustomed  to  the  needs  of  the  life 
before  them.  Last  of  all  came  the  two  baggage 
wagons,  one  carrying  the  tents  and  stove,  the  other 
laden  with  the  generous  stock  of  provisions  which 
Mr.  Burnam  had  laid  in  for  his  guests;  while  in 
and  out  among  them  all  raced  Ben  in  a  series  of 
mad,  elephantine  gambols,  expressive  of  his  joy  at 
being  started  for  the  field  again. 

Through  the  town  they  proceeded  quietly 
enough ;  then,  when  they  came  out  into  the  open 
ground  of  the  lower  canon,  the  boys  uttered  a  wild 
whoop,  and  dug  their  heels  into  the  flanks  of  their 
ponies,  as  they  went  scurrying  away,  far  in  advance 
of  the  rest  of  the  party. 

"  Just  look  at  Charlie  !  "  said  Marjorie,  as  the 
boys  turned  to  ride  leisurely  back  to  their  com 
panions  once  more.  "  He  acts  as  if  he  didn't  know 
what  to  do  next." 

"  He's  just  about  wild  to  be  out  again,"  returned 
Allie,  gathering  up  her  reins  preparatory  to  join 
ing  the  lads  at  the  head  of  the  procession.  "  You 
see,  he  was  shut  up  'most  eight  weeks,  so  I  don't 


148         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

wonder  he  wants  to  make  up  for  it.  I  expect  he  '11 
break  his  neck,  though ;  for  he  's  so  near-sighted 
that  he  can't  see  without  his  glasses,  and  of  course 
he  can't  wear  them  with  that  patch  over  his  eye." 

"How  long  is  he  going  to  wear  it?"  asked 
Marjorie  soberly. 

"  I  don't  know;  a  good  while,  the  doctor  says, 
but  I  don't  think  Charlie  minds  much,  after  the 
other." 

"I  suppose  he  came  awfully  near  " — Marjorie 
paused,  with  a  little  shiver. 

Allie  nodded  understandingly. 

"  Yes ;  he  didn't  have  any  idea  of  it,  though,  till 
that  day  he  met  Dr.  Hornblowcr  at  the  Evcretts'. 
After  that  he  was  dreadfully  blue ;  you  know  he 
wouldn't  stir  out  anywhere,  for  ever  so  long." 

"  Say,  Allie,"  began  Marjorie  abruptly;  "  do  you 
remember  that  day  before  he  was  hurt?  " 

"  When  you  were  so  cross?"  inquired  Allie 
mercilessly. 

"  Yes.     Did  Charlie  ever  say  anything  about  it  ?  " 

"  Why,  no,"  answered  Allie  after  a  little  reflec 
tion.  "  I  don't  believe  he  ever  thought  of  it 
again." 

"  I  am  glad  of  it,"  responded  Marjorie ;  but  still 
she  did  not  look  altogether  pleased.  She  would 


CAMPING   ON   THE   BEAVERHEAD.  149 

have  preferred  that  her  words  should  carry  a  little 
more  weight.  Then  she  went  on  with  her  confes 
sion,  "  Well,  I  kept  thinking  about  it,  till  I  began 
to  feel  as  if  I  'd  done  it  all.  You  know  I  said  I 
hoped  something  would  happen.  I  wanted  to 
come  straight  down  here,  that  very  night,  but 
mamma  wouldn't  let  me,  not  even  long  enough  to 
just  say  I  was  sorry ;  and  then  the  doctor  wouldn't 
let  any  of  us  see  him  for  ever  so  long,  so  I  never 
said  anything  about  it.  Would  you  now,  or  would 
you  let  it  go  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Allie  thoughtfully.  "  Char 
lie  'd  never  lay  up  anything  of  that  kind ;  but  I 
always  just  like  to  say  I  'm  sorry,  when  I  Ve  been 
hateful  to  him  or  Howard.  It  kind  of  smoothes 
things  out;  but  you  can  do  as  you  like." 

"  Hi,  you  girls  !  "  exclaimed  Grant,  dashing  past 
them  at  this  moment,  after  capering  about  the 
wagons  in  a  manner  calculated  to  bring  down  Mrs. 
Pennypoker's  denunciations  upon  his  yellow  head. 
"  What  makes  you  so  puppywented  slow?  Come 
on!" 

"  All  right !  "  And  Allie  scampered  off  at  his 
heels,  sitting  very  straight  and  trim  in  her  pretty 
new  saddle. 

Howard  and  Ned  went  aftor  them,  and   Charlie 


150         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

was  just  ready  to  follow  when  he  heard  some  one 
coming  up  behind  him  on  his  blindfold  side. 

"Wait  just  one  minute,  Charlie,"  said  Marjoric's 
voice  in  his  ear.  "  I  want  to  say  something  to 
you — just  to  say" —  She  paused,  and  swallowed 
hard  for  a  minute ;  then  she  went  on  steadily, 
"  how  sorry  I  Ve  been  that  I  was  so  mean  to  you 
that  day  your  eye  was  hurt.  I  wanted  to  tell  you 
so  right  off  then,  but  I  couldn't.  But  I  kept 
thinking  about  it,  all  the  time  you  were  ill,  and 
'twas  most  as  bad  as  if  I 'd  thrown  the  ball." 
Marjorie  stopped ;  the  very  earnestness  of  her 
apology  made  it  hard  to  utter. 

Charlie  turned  his  head  to  look  at  her.  He  was 
surprised  to  see  her  face  so  pale  and  her  lips 
trembling. 

"  That 's  all  right  enough,  Marjorie,"  he  said 
heartily.  "  I  knew  you  didn't  mean  it,  and  I  didn't 
think  any  more  about  it.  Give  us  your  fist,  and 
then  we  '11  go  after  the  others." 

Sunset,  the  next  night,  found  the  party  comfort 
ably  established  in  their  new  quarters,  on  the  very 
bank  of  the  willow-bordered  creek  that  plunged 
into  the  river,  forty  feet  away.  Across  the  creek 
and  six  hundred  feet  down  the  valley,  dingy  and 
brown  with  much  service  stood  the  tents  of  the 


CAMPING   ON  THE   BEAVERHEAD.  151 

engineering  corps;  but  the  officers'  tent  was 
deserted,  for  its  occupants  had  come  over  to  pay 
their  respects  at  Camp  Burnam,  as  the  children 
had  christened  it.  The  site  for  the  camp  had  been 
fixed  upon,  two  days  beforehand,  and  it  was  but  the 
work  of  an  hour  to  unpack  the  wagons  and  pitch 
the  four  tents  which  made  up  the  outfit.  At  the 
south  were  the  sleeping-tents,  with  Mrs.  Burnam 
presiding  over  one,  and  Mr.  Everett  over  the  other, 
while  at  the  east,  close  to  the  creek,  were  those 
given  up  to  dining  and  cooking,  where  Janey  and 
Wang  Kum  held  sway  by  day,  with  many  a  wrangle 
over  the  possession  of  the  little  camp-stove,  and 
many  a  heated  discussion  as  to  the  relative  merits 
of  Asiatic  and  African  cookery. 

The  stove  had  been  the  first  thing  to  be  un 
packed,  and  by  the  time  the  last  guy-rope  was 
made  fast,  the  last  roll  of  bedding  opened  and 
arranged  in  its  place,  the  welcome  call  to  supper 
was  sounded,  and  they  gathered  about  the  long 
table,  spread  in  the  open  air,  in  the  golden  sunset 
light.  Then  the  elders  settled  themselves  for  the 
evening,  glad  to  rest  after  their  long  ride,  while 
the  children  raced  up  and  down  the  camp,  explor 
ing  all  the  nooks  and  corners  of  their  little  domain, 
before  throwing  themselves  down  on  a  pile  of 


152         IN  BLUE  CREKK  CANON. 

blankets  to  watch  the  full  moon  as  it  rose  from  a 
bank  of  cloud  just  above  the  low  hills  to  the  east 
ward,  and  threw  its  white  light  over  their  gay 
group.  Fifteen  feet  away  from  them  Mrs.  Bur- 
nam  sat  in  the  doorway  of  her  tent,  with  Louise  at 
her  feet.  The  girl's  golden  hair  was  glistening  in 
the  moonlight,  as  she  raised  her  head  to  speak  to 
the  topographer  of  the  party,  a  sandy-haired,  jovial 
young  fellow,  so  lately  come  from  "  Sheff"  that  he 
retained  all  the  slang  and  easy  assurance  of  the 
genuine  college  boy.  Ten  months  of  camp  life  had 
made  him  hail  with  delight  the  prospect  of  paying 
court  to  a  pretty  girl ;  and  he  had  attached  him 
self  to  her  side  to  the  utter  exclusion  of  Dr. 
Brownlee  and  the  grave,  taciturn  leveller,  who  had 
retired  from  the  contest  and  was  devoting  himself 
to  Mrs.  Burnam,  whom  he  had  known  for  years. 
For  a  few  moments,  the  doctor  stood  looking  on ; 
then  he  turned  away  and  joined  the  group  of  chil 
dren,  who  received  him  enthusiastically. 

"  I  '11  tell  you  what,  this  is  fine  !  "  said  Charlie 
contentedly,  while  the  doctor  seated  himself  by  his 
side,  and  the  boy  stretched  himself  out  at  full 
length,  with  his  head  on  his  friend's  knee,  and  lay 
staring  up  at  the  moon.  "  This  is  something  I  Ve 
never  tried  before,  and  always  wanted  to." 


CAMPING  ON  THE   BEAVERHEAD.  153 

"Which?"  inquired  Allie,  as  she  bent  over  to 
tickle  his  nose  with  a  long  straw  stolen  from  the 
bedding;  "taking  up  twice  as  much  room  as 
belongs  to  you,  or  looking  at  the  moon  ?  " 

"Camping  out,  of  course,"  answered  her  cousin, 
curling  up  his  feet,  in  deference  to  her  words. 
"  Looking  at  the  moon,  too,  for  that  matter ;  for  I 
didn't  see  much  of  the  last  one." 

"  Speaking  of  moons,"  interposed  Grant,  from 
the  corner  where  he  and  Marjorie  and  Howard 
had  been  chattering  and  giggling  together;  "the 
last  two  days  have  been  no  end  hard  on  the  storm 
center,  and  I  think  we  shall  catch  a  blizzard  soon, 
by  the  looks.  Just  see  her  now  !  " 

Grant's  comment  was  in  part  justified,  for  the 
past  two  days  had  been  undeniably  hard  upon  Mrs. 
Pennypoker's  appearance.  The  sun  is  no  respecter 
of  persons,  and  he  had  beaten  down  upon  her 
majestic  Greek  nose  with  precisely  the  same 
fervent  caresses  which  he  had  lavished  upon 
Marjorie's  freckled  pug.  Unfortunately,  Mrs.  Pen 
nypoker's  neat  little  straw  bonnet  was  by  no  means 
so  good  a  protection  as  Marjorie's  soft  scarlet  felt 
hat,  with  its  broad,  flapping  brim,  and,  even  in  the 
cold  light  of  the  moon,  Mrs.  Pennypoker's  coun 
tenance  gleamed  with  the  luster  of  polished  ma- 


154         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

hogany,  which  was  enhanced  by  the  great  white 
kerchief  that  she  had  tied  over  her  head,  to  keep 
out  the  evening  air.  No  urging  could  induce  her 
to  sit  on  a  blanket  on  the  ground ;  so,  in  the 
absence  of  upholstered  chairs,  Mr.  Everett  had 
arranged  a  wooden  pail  against  a  tall  box,  cush 
ioned  them  both  with  straw  and  blankets,  and 
mounted  his  cousin  upon  this  rustic  throne,  where 
she  sat  with  her  skirts  carefully  tucked  up  about 
her  and  her  nose  in  the  air,  looking  as  much  out 
of  place  as  a  Dresden  china  dinner  service  would 
have  done  on  the  rough  board  table. 

Howard  laughed,  as  he  looked  at  her. 

"  I  should  think  Wang  would  like  her,  to  put 
her  in  his  Joss  house,"  he  said  disrespectfully. 
"  What  '11  she  ever  do,  before  two  weeks  are  up? 
She  '11  be  a  case  for  the  doctor,  sure  enough." 

"  We  ought  to  have  brought  Dr.  Hornblowcr 
along,  to  amuse  her,"  suggested  Grant.  "  Come, 
I  'm  tired  of  this ;  let 's  have  a  game  of  '  I  spy.' 
This  moonlight  would  be  fine  for  it.  Come  on, 
Ned !  " 

"  Where?"  inquired  Ned  lazily,  for  he  was  thor 
oughly  absorbed  in  the  story  that  Dr.  Brownlcc 
was  telling. 

"  '  I  spy  ' ;   anything  to  get  waked  up." 


CAMPING   ON  THE   BEAVERHEAD.  155 

"  Sha'n't.     I  'm  too  comfortable  to  move." 

"  Allie?" 

"  Don't  want  to,"  replied  Allie,  without  stirring 
from  her  place  beside  Ned. 

"  Charlie  —  anybody?  "  demanded  Grant. 

"  What's  the  use?  I  can't  see  enough  without 
my  gigs." 

"  Lazy  things  !  Don't  disturb  them,  Grant," 
said  Marjorie  scornfully.  "  If  this  is  the  way 
you  're  going  to  do,  I  wish  we  'd  left  you  at  home. 
Grant,  we'll  hide,  and  let  Howard  find  us.  Come 
ahead  !  "  And  they  vanished  into  the  shadow 
beside  the  cooking  tent. 

Three  minutes  later  there  was  a  vigorous  splash, 
followed  by  a  shriek  from  Marjorie,  which  brought 
the  whole  party  flying  to  the  spot.  Down  in  the 
shallow  creek  sat  Grant,  blinking  up  at  them  in 
bewilderment,  as  he  wiped  the  water  from  his  eyes. 

"What's  the  matter? "  asked  Howard,  as  Mr. 
Burnam  helped  the  boy  to  scramble  to  his  feet, 
and  up  the  steep  bank  of  the  stream. 

"  Wish  you  'd  whitewash  those  guy-ropes  !  " 
responded  Grant  petulantly.  "  I  tripped  over  'em, 
and  they  landed  me  in  that  squdgy  old  creek. 
Marj  needn't  have  squealed  like  a  cat,  though,  and 
given  it  all  away." 


156         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

"  *  If  this  is  the  way  you  're  going  to  do,  I  wish 
we  'd  left  you  at  home/  "  quoted  Allie  majestically, 
as  she  surveyed  the  dripping  boy  before  her.  "  I 
think  Charlie  has  his  spectacles  in  his  pocket, 
Grant,  if  you  'd  like  to  borrow  them." 

However,  this  ended  the  frolic  of  the  evening, 
for  Mrs.  Pennypokcr  summarily  seized  upon  the 
young  explorer  and  ordered  him  to  bed,  while 
Wang  Kum  spread  his  clothes  to  dry  before  the 
fire.  The  other  boys  soon  followed  Grant's  ex 
ample,  and  the  older  people  with  them ;  so,  after 
much  wriggling  and  nestling  about  in  the  blankets, 
they  at  last  dropped  to  sleep,  and  silence  descended 
upon  Camp  Burnam. 

Camp  life  began  in  earnest  the  next  day,  and 
for  the  next  two  weeks  the  party  enjoyed  one 
perpetual  picnic.  The  children  were  up  and  out 
by  daybreak,  ready  for  the  long  days  of  fun,  and 
by  seven  o'clock  the  breakfast  call  had  sounded 
to  gather  them  around  the  long  table.  It  was 
good  to  see  Wang  Kum,  tin  horn  in  hand,  emerge 
from  his  improvised  kitchen,  and  blow  the  deep 
blast  which  should  summon  his  flock  to  the  meal; 
it  was  good  to  see  Janey  follow  in  his  wake,  armed 
with  the  great  coffee-pot  and  a  pile  of  light  hoe- 
cakes,  and  then  rush  up  and  down  behind  the 


CAMPING   ON  THE   BEAVERHEAD.  157 

chairs,  trying  to  serve  them  all  at  once,  while  she 
struggled  in  vain  to  repress  an  inclination  to 
prance,  and  never  failed  to  give  a  vigorous  tweak 
to  Wang  Kum's  pigtail,  as  she  passed  him.  The 
relation  between  the  two  servants  was  unique,  and, 
at  times,  somewhat  strained.  Although  Wang 
Kum,  left  to  himself,  would  have  been  the  most 
peaceable  of  mortals,  Janey  persisted  in  treating 
him  as  an  embodied  joke,  and  lost  no  oppor 
tunity  to  tease  and  torment  him,  until  he  came  to 
regard  her  with  a  strange  mingling  of  hatred  and 
fear. 

"Wang  tell  Mis'  Pen'plok',"  he  would  mutter, 
with  a  threatening  glance  from  his  beady  eyes. 

"  Ol'  mis'  won'  believe  you,"  Janey  would  make 
answer.  "  She  knows  dat  you  's  a  heathen,  an' 
won'  go  to  church.  Cut  off  your  great  long  plat, 
ef  you  don'  wan'  me  to  pull  it  no  mo'.  I  cyarn' 
help  it,  ef  it  gits  in  my  way,  all  de  time."  And 
then  she  would  slyly  lift  the  tip  of  the  offending 
member  and  lay  it  across  the  table,  before  setting 
her  heavy  iron  dish  pan  upon  it.  "  Don'  you  year 
ol'  mis'  calling  you?"  she  would  ask  then.  "Take 
care  !  Don'  upset  all  my  dish  tub  !  "  And  the  war 
would  begin  again. 

The  weather   left  nothing  to    be    desired,    and, 


158  IN  BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

the  party  usually  scattered  soon  after  breakfast. 
The  older  men  went  on  long  hunting  expeditions, 
in  pursuit  of  the  game  which  generally  proved  to 
be  just  over  the  divide ;  or  explored  the  creek  in 
search  of  trout,  —  great,  rich-flavored  fellows,  which 
put  to  shame  the  tiny  products  of  our  Eastern 
streams.  The  boys,  in  the  mean  time,  made  friends 
with  the  engineers,  and  spent  whole  days  in  the 
field.  Howard  and  Ned  attached  themselves  to 
the  transitman,  and  took  turns  as  head  and  rear 
chain,  while  Grant  superintended  the  levelling,  and 
Charlie  trudged  along  in  the  rear  with  the  young 
topographer,  who  had  taken  a  sudden  fancy  to  the 
boy,  and  gave  him  frequent  lectures  on  the  theory 
and  practice  of  surveying,  until  his  pupil  longed 
for  the  time  when  he  too  could  wear  on  his  watch- 
chain  the  tiny  blue  shield,  with  its  golden  date  and 
initials. 

Then  there  were  long  rides  up  and  down  the 
valley,  and  merry  evenings  in  camp,  when  they 
told  over  the  adventures  of  the  day,  played  games, 
or  sang  college  songs  to  the  tinkling  notes  of  the 
mandolin  which  Louise  had  brought  with  her. 
There  was  an  elaborate  afternoon  tea,  when  Mrs. 
Burnam  and  Louise  devoted  their  entire  supply  of 
tin  plates  and  cups  to  the  entertainment  of  the 


CAMPING   ON   THE   BEAVERHEAD.  159 

whole  corps  of  engineers,  down  to  the  very  axmen, 
and  feasted  them  upon  the  miscellaneous  delicacies 
concocted  by  Jancy  and  Wang.  Three  days  later, 
this  hospitality  was  returned  by  a  grand  dinner 
party  at  the  lower  camp,  when  venison  and  trout 
were  the  main  dishes  of  the  meal,  and  the  table 
was  set  and  served  with  a  masculine  disregard  for 
appearances. 

But  the  last  night  of  their  holiday  had  to  come. 
Evening  found  them  all  gathered  at  Camp  Burnam, 
watching  the  darkness  settle  around  their  pleasant 
forest  home.  Both  camps  were  to  be  struck  on 
the  following  day,  for  the  engineering  party  was  to 
move  down  the  river  at  the  same  time  that  the 
others  started  for  home. 

"  I  have  only  two  things  to  mourn  about,"  said 
Charlie  meditatively.  "  I  haven't  shot  a  single 
bear,  and  I  haven't  even  seen  the  tail  of  a  cayote." 

"  Wish  you  had;  'twould  have  been  such  fun 
to  see  you  turn  and  run,"  responded  Ned,  as  he 
indolently  settled  himself  with  his  head  on  Ben's 
side. 

"  Poor  old  Ben  !  Does  he  use  you  for  a  pillow?  " 
asked  Marjorie,  stooping  to  stroke  the  great  creat 
ure's  head. 

"  I  say,  Marjorie,  stop  that,"  remonstrated  How- 


160  IN  BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

ard  suddenly.  "  When  you  pet  that  end  of  him, 
this  end  wags,  and  his  tail  whacks  awfully.  Do  let 
him  go  to  sleep,  or  else  warn  me,  so  I  can  get  out 
of  the  way." 

"  You  'd  better  try  this,  you  fellows,"  advised 
Ned.  "  It 's  fine  ;  the  best  bed  I  Ve  had  since  I  left 
home." 

"What's  going  on  here?"  asked  Dr.  Brownlee, 
moving  up  to  the  group,  in  company  with  Louise 
and  her  faithful  attendant,  the  topographer,  just 
as  Howard  and  Charlie  stretched  themselves  out 
beside  Ned. 

"  Nothing,  only  they  're  getting  ready  for  a  nap," 
said  Allie.  "  Don't  you  wish  we  didn't  have  to  go 
home  to-morrow?" 

"  I  do,"  groaned  CharLie.  "  I  never  had  so 
much  fun  before,  and  I  don't  want  to  go  back  to 
town  again.  I  believe  I  '11  run  off  and  set  up  in 
life  as  a  brave.  Will  you  come,  too,  Allie?"  . 

"  Not  if  I  have  to  live  in  a  wick-i-up  three  feet 
square,  and  wear  your  cast-off  blankets,"  she  an 
swered,  with  some  spirit.  "I'm  just  about  the 
right  color  for  a  squaw,  though ;  that  is,  if  I  look 
as  badly  as  the  rest  of  you  do." 

"Thank  you,  dear,"  returned  Howard  laughing. 
"  You  're  at  least  ten  shades  blacker  than  anybody 


CAMPING   ON   THE  BEAVERHEAD.  l6l 

else ;  and  Charlie  is  so  dark  that  his  patch  hasn't 
chowed  any  for  five  days." 

"How  about  the  freckles?"  inquired  Charlie 
composedly.  "  I  don't  care ;  I  Ve  had  a  good 
time,  and  maybe  't  won't  be  fast  color." 

"  It  won't  hurt  you,  Charlie,"  remarked  the 
doctor.  "  You  started  off  looking  rather  too 
white,  after  living  in  the  dark  for  a  month.  This 
camping  trip  has  been  the  best  thing  you  could 
have  had." 

The  two  weeks  had  certainly  done  the  boy 
good,  and,  removed  from  any  temptation  to  use 
his  eyes,  he  had  given  them  the  utter  rest  which 
they  demanded,  until  they  had  nearly  regained 
their  former  strength.  Dr.  Brownlee  watched 
him  approvingly  for  a  moment.  Notwithstanding 
the  dark  sunburn  on  his  cheeks  and  the  shade 
over  his  right  eye,  it  was  an  attractive  face,  in 
spite  of  its  lack  of  real  beauty,  such  as  had  fal 
len  to  the  share  of  Ned  and  Grant. 

"  It  has  been  immense,"  said  the  boy  regret 
fully.  "  But  maybe  we  can  come  out  again,  next 
summer." 

"  Don't  flatter  yourself  with  any  such  notion," 
said  Howard.  "  If  you  'd  been  with  papa  as  long 
as  I  have,  you  'd  know  that  there  isn't  much 
chance  of  our  being  here,  by  another  summer. 


1 62  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

He  may  be  ordered  to  Alaska  or  Arizona,  by  that 
time  ;  and  we  '11  have  to  *  hoppee  'long,  too.'  " 

"  Just  this  way,"  interposed  Grant,  starting  up 
abruptly  with  an  inviting  chirrup  to  Ben,  who 
scrambled  to  his  feet  with  a  suddenness  which 
sent  the  three  boys  rolling  into  an  indiscriminate 
pile  among  the  blankets,  as  their  pillow  went 
rushing  away  across  the  camp,  in  pursuit  of  some 
imaginary  intruder. 

It  was  late  that  night  when  the  party  finally 
broke  up  and  went  to  their  tents ;  it  was  later  still 
before  the  usual  gentle  snores  arose  from  Mrs.  Pen- 
nypoker's  corner.  Soon  afterwards,  the  silence  of 
the  night  was  broken  by  the  sound  of  stealthy 
footsteps,  coming  up  the  river  bank  from  the 
engineers'  tents.  A  moment  later,  the  music  from 
a  full  orchestra  of  combs  roused  the  sleepers  from 
their  dreams. 

"  Farewell,  farewell,  my  own  true  love  !  "  they 
wailed,  in  a  gusty  and  oft-repeated  chorus,  until 
even  Ben's  feelings  overpowered  him,  and,  run 
ning  to  the  door  of  the  tent,  he  raised  his  nose 
towards  the  waning  moon,  and  howled  till  his 
voice  was  husky.  Then  the  swaying  curtain  at 
the  doorway  of  the  tent  dropped  once  more,  and 
all  was  still.  The  play  was  over,  and  the  orches 
tra  had  ceased.  Camp  Burnam's  story  was  ended. 


CHAPTER   X. 

UP   THE   GULCH. 

"  I  DO  believe  every-day  things  are  pleasantest, 
after  all,"  said  Allie  contentedly. 

It  was  a  month  after  their  camping  party,  and 
she  and  her  mother  were  comfortably  settled  in  the 
parlor,  with  the  mending  basket  between  them. 
The  windows  and  doors  were  thrown  wide  open, 
and  the  room  was  flooded  with  the  yellow  sunlight 
that  lay  across  the  floor,  while  the  warm  Septem 
ber  wind  softly  fluttered  the  light  draperies.  Out 
side  the  door,  on  the  piazza,  Ben  lay  snoozing  in 
the  sun,  sleepily  wagging  his  tail  in  some  happy 
dream  of  full-flavored  bones  or  trespassing  cats; 
and  beyond  him  Victor  \vas  trudging  up  and  down 
the  path  in  front  of  the  house,  laden  with  a  tiny 
scarlet  pail  filled  with  sand.  Allie  glanced  thought 
fully  about  the  pretty  room,  and  out  at  her  baby 
brother ;  then  she  turned  back  to  her  mother 
again,  as  Mrs.  Burnam  asked, — 

"  How  do  you  mean,  Allie?  " 

(<  Why,  after  all  our  camping  and  fun,  it  seems 
1G3 


1 64  IN  BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

good  to  sit  down  and  visit  a  little,  mammy.  Don't 
you  see,  we  haven't  had  a  chance  for  ever  so  long, 
not  since  Charlie  was  hurt ;  and  I  enjoy  it,  once  in 
a  while.  The  other  is  fun ;  but  I  like  to  stop  and 
talk  it  over  sometimes."  And  Allie  paused  medi 
tatively,  with  one  of  Howard's  long  stockings  drawn 
over  her  hand. 

"Yes,  I  know,"  her  mother  answered,  while  she 
trimmed  a  patch  to  fit  the  hole  which  it  was  in 
tended  to  fill ;  "  we  haven't  had  a  quiet  afternoon 
for  a  long  time,  hardly  since  Charlie  came  out 
here,  last  spring.  You  Ve  been  so  busy  with  the 
boys  that  I  didn't  know  whether  you  'd  ever  enjoy 
sitting  down  with  me  any  more." 

"Yes,  this  is  nicest,"  said  Allie.  "The  boys 
aren't  you,  any  more  than  Charlie  is  Howard.  I 
like  them  both ;  but  I  need  you  to  straighten  out 
things  sometimes." 

"What  is  it  now?"  asked  her  mother  quietly, 
for  she  saw  from  Allie's  face  that  something  was 
troubling  her,  and,  mother-like,  she  wished  to  help 
her  little  daughter. 

"Why,  it  isn't  so  much;  only  something  that 
Grant  was  telling,  something  Mrs.  Pcnnypoker 
said, "  .  answered  Allie,  while  she  threaded  her 
needle  and  stuck  it  in  beside  the  hole.  Then  she 


UP  THE   GULCH.  165 

asked  abruptly,  "  Mamma,  is  it  true  that  Charlie 
has  ever  so  much  money?  " 

"Yes;  that  is,  he  will  have,  when  he  grows 
up,"  replied  Mrs.  Burnam,  a  little  surprised  at  the 
question,  for  she  had  tried  to  train  her  children 
to  feel  that  wealth  was  by  no  means  the  main  end 
in  life. 

"  How  much?  "  persisted  Allie. 

"  A  great  deal,  for  Uncle  Charlie  was  a  rich  man, 
and  our  Charlie  is  his  only  child." 

•'  Oh  !  "     And  Allie  lapsed  into  silence  again. 

"What  made  you  ask,  Allie?"  her  mother  in 
quired,  after  a  pause. 

"Nothing;  only  Mrs.  Pennypoker  said  some 
body  told  her  he  was  very  rich,  and  that  was  the 
reason  you  'd  let  him  come  here,  so  maybe  we 
could  get  some  of  it ;  and  she  asked  Mrs.  Penny- 
poker  if  she  hadn't  seen  the  way  I  hadn't  had  so 
much  to  do  with  Ned  and  Marjorie  since  he  'd  been 
here,  and  all.  Wasn't  it  horrid,  mamma?" 

Mrs.  Burnam  frowned.  She  was  sorry  to  have 
such  ideas  put  into  the  head  of  her  young  daugh 
ter;  and,  during  the  past  five  months,  she  had 
grown  to  feel  that  Charlie  was  almost  one  of  her 
own  children ;  so  the  worldly-wise  tone  of  these 
comments  grated  upon  her  ears, 


1 66  IN  BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

"  Grant  had  no  right  to  tell  you  this,"  she  said 
thoughtfully. 

"  I  don't  care  if  he  did,"  Allie  interrupted.  "  I 
knew  't  wasn't  true,  and  I  told  him  that  I  didn't 
think  Charlie  had  any  money,  and  we  didn't  want 
any  of  it,  if  he  had  ;  we  'd  plenty  of  our  own. 
But  I  wish  people  wouldn't  talk  such  things.  I 
like  Ned  and  Marjorie  just  as  well  as  I  used  to ; 
but  when  Charlie's  here  in  the  house,  and  just  as 
splendid  as  he  can  be,  I  don't  see  why  I  shouldn't 
like  him  better.  Nobody  minded  when  I  was  with 
Howard  'most  all  the  time,  and  Charlie  's  just  like 
another  brother."  And  she  nodded  conclusively 
as  she  resumed  her  work. 

Mrs.  Burnam  watched  her  steadily  fora  moment, 
trying  to  read  whether  there  was  any  unspoken 
thought  in  her  daughter's  mind ;  but  Allie  looked 
up,  and  her  blue  eyes  met  her  mother's  so  squarely 
that  Mrs.  Burnam  was  satisfied. 

"  Charlie  docs  seem  just  like  one  of  us,"  she 
assented  heartily;  "  and  I  know  we  Ve  all  enjoyed 
his  being  out  here ;  but  it  isn't  because  he  's  rich 
that  we  Ve  liked  him,  it 's  because  he  's  just  what 
he  is,  a  bright,  manly  boy,  without  any  airs  or 
nonsense.  Aunt  Helen  asked  to  have  him 
come  to  us,  because  he  hadn't  any  other  cousins; 


UP  THE   GULCH.  l6/ 

and  it  would  have  been  a  pleasant  six  months  for 
all  of  us,  if  it  hadn't  been  for  his  terrible  illness." 
Mrs.  Burnam  paused ;  she  could  never  speak  of 
his  accident  without  a  shudder. 

"  I  'm  glad  it  happened,"  returned  Allie  proudly. 
"  If  it  hadn't,  we  shouldn't  ever  have  known  how 
brave  he  was.  And,  besides,  if  it  hadn't  been  for 
that,  we  never  should  have  known  Dr.  Brownlee 
half  so  well,  and  he  wouldn't  have  gone  into  camp 
with  us ;  so  you  see  there  was  some  good  came 
out  of  it.  But  didn't  we  have  a  fine  time  in  camp, 
mammy?  " 

"  Yes,  I  think  our  camping  trip  was  a  success, 
in  more  ways  than  one,"  said  Mrs.  Burnam,  smiling 
quietly  to  herself,  as  she  recalled  certain  scenes  in 
which  Louise  and  the  doctor  had  played  a  part. 
There  was  no  doubt  in  her  mind  about  the  enjoy 
ment  of  two  of  their  number,  however  the  others 
might  have  looked  upon  it. 

"  But,  after  all,"  resumed  Allie,  going  back  to 
her  original  statement ;  "  I  do  like  getting  settled 
down  again ;  and  this  vacation  has  been  so  stirred 
up  that  I  believe  I  shall  be  glad  to  have  some  les 
sons  once  more." 

"  Here  comes  Ned,"  said  her  mother,  glancing 
up  from  her  work  as  the  boy  turned  the  corner 


1 68  IN  BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

and  came  up  the  street  towards  the  house.  "  He  's 
probably  after  you  and  the  boys  for  some  frolic  or 
other." 

"  All  right;  I  Ve  just  finished  my  last  stocking. 
Did  you  ever  see  anybody  make  such  holes  as 
Howard  does?"  And  she  rolled  the  stockings 
into  a  ball  and  tossed  them  into  the  basket,  as  Ned 
came  up  the  steps. 

"  Hullo !  "  he  remarked,  dropping  into  the 
chair  from  which  Allie  had  just  risen,  and  helping 
himself  to  her  orderly  work-basket.  "  Where  are 
the  other  fellows  ?  " 

"  They  Ve  gone  up  the  creek  fishing,"  answered 
Allie,  watching,  with  an  anxious  face,  while  Ned 
investigated  her  papers  of  needles,  and  then  turned 
his  attention  to  her  button  bag. 

"  They  must  want  something  to  do,"  returned 
Ned  scornfully.  "  I  should  think  you  about  lived 
on  fish,  up  here." 

"  They  don't  often  catch  anything,"  said  Mrs. 
Burnam,  laughing ;  "  not  even  colds.  Howard  fell 
into  the  creek,  day  before  yesterday,  and  then  sat 
around  in  his  wet  clothes  all  the  afternoon ;  but  it 
didn't  seem  to  hurt  him  any." 

"  I  tried  that  once,"  said  Ned,  as  he  stealthily 
put  the  basket  on  the  floor,  just  behind  Allie, 


UP  THE   GULCH.  169 

where  she  could  not  fail  to  step  in  it  and  overturn 
it ;  "  but  I  had  the  worst  of  it,  for  Cousin  Euphemia 
saw  me  when  I  came  home.  She  put  me  to  bed, 
right  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  and  made  me  take 
some  hot  ginger-tea.  Ugh,  what  a  mess  't  was  ! 
I  'd  rather  have  had  a  dozen  colds  than  be  choked 
to  death,  and  left  to  stew  in  a  flannel  blanket.  But 
what  I  came  to  say,  Allie  —  Oh,  isn't  that  too 
bad  !  You  Ve  upset  your  basket." 

"  What  a  wretch  you  are,  Ned  !  "  And  Allie 
slyly  dropped  a  large,  flat  button  down  inside  his 
collar,  as  she  stooped  to  pick  up  her  scattered 
treasures.  "  You  Ve  done  this  before,  and  I  know 
just  how  sorry  you  are." 

"  I  didn't  do  a  single  thing,"  returned  Ned 
innocently.  "  How  'd  I  know  you  were  going  to 
put  your  foot  in  it  that  way?  But  I  stopped  to 
see  if  some  of  you  didn't  want  to  go  up  the  gulch 
this  afternoon.  It 's  not  so  very  warm,  and  Lou 
and  Grant  are  going,  so  I  said  I  'd  hurry  on  ahead 
and  get  you  to  come  too.  Here  they  are,  now." 

"I'll  go;  wait  till  I  get  my  hat."  And  Allie 
vanished. 

"  Come  along  too,  Mrs.  Burnam,"  said  Ned  per 
suasively. 

"  I  wish  I   could,  Ned ;    but  I   must  stay  with 


1 70  IN  BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

Vic,  for  Janey  has  gone  out  this  afternoon.  You  'd 
better  stop  in  here,  all  of  you,  when  you  come 
back,  though.  The  boys  will  be  home  by  that 
time,  and  I  want  to  see  Louise,  too,"  she  added, 
as  Ned  and  Allie  went  down  the  steps. 

At  the  west  side  of  the  town,  the  mountains  rose 
up,  sheer  and  straight,  their  slopes  ending  abruptly 
at  the  outer  streets,  which  were  carefully  laid  out 
and  numbered,  although  no  houses  had  yet  been 
built  there.  However,  the  low,  even  ground  was 
elaborately  divided  into  blocks,  and.  the  blocks, 
in  their  turn,  into  building  lots,  to  be  in  readiness 
for  the  possible  purchaser,  who  might  appear  at 
any  moment.  On  the  boundary  line  between  the 
town  and  this  suburban  region  was  the  little  brick 
school-house ;  and  beyond  it  lay  the  open  ground 
which  now,  in  the  absence  of  any  inhabitants,  was 
still  used  as  a  wood  yard  for  the  distant  smelter, 
whose  constant  fires  easily  devoured  the  vast  piles 
of  wood  daily  unloaded  by  the  trains  which  ran 
down  the  spur  of  track  leading  to  the  yard. 
Beyond  this  again  were  the  mountains,  which  rose 
to  their  highest  point  just  to  the  west  of  the  town, 
where  the  tips  of  the  tallest  peaks  were  always 
blanketed  with  the  soft,  white  piles  of  snow.  At 
only  one  spot  their  unbroken  front  was  interrupted, 


UP  THE  GULCH.  I/I 

where  a  deep,  narrow  ravine  led  far  up  among  the 
mountains,  forming  a  delightful  walk  in  a  warm 
summer  day.  After  the  burning  glare  on  the  dry, 
sandy  soil  of  the  town,  which,  in  its  barren  lack  of 
grass  and  trees,  stared  back  at  the  sun  like  a  lid- 
less,  lashless  eye,  the  cool  shadows  of  the  pines  in 
the  gulch  were  a  refreshing  change.  The  little 
gulch  had  its  variety  of  names  :  Bear  Gulch,  it  was 
called,  Lover's  Gulch,  and  even  Cemetery  Gulch, 
from  the  lonely  burial  ground  perched  on  the  top 
of  the  rugged  bluff  at  its  entrance. 

Ned  and  Allie  had  taken  the  lead,  with  Louise 
and  Grant  following  close  behind  them,  as  they 
picked  their  way  among  the  countless  tin  cans 
scattered  over  the  fields,  or  paused  to  look  and 
laugh  while  the  boys  clambered  to  the  top  of  the 
long  wood-piles,  and  ran  slow,  unsteady  races  over 
their  uneven  surfaces.  Then  they  came  out  to  the 
track,  and  followed  along  its  course,  where  Ned 
and  Allie  joined  hands  and  walked  the  rails,  and 
Grant  trudged  along  behind  them,  stepping  with 
an  elaborate  care  upon  each  one  of  the  ties,  or 
leaping  over  occasional  cattle-guards,  as  they 
crossed  his  path. 

They  were  far  past  the  western  houses  of  the 
town,  and  rapidly  approaching  the  foot  of  the 


172         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

mountain,  when  Ned  gave  Allie's  hand  a  violent 
twitch. 

"  Look  back !  "  he  exclaimed  in  an  undertone. 

With  a  little  cry  of  alarm,  Allie  sprang  from  the 
track  ;  then,  as  she  glanced  back  over  her  shoulder, 
she  burst  out  laughing. 

"  How  you  scared  me,  Ned  !  "  she  said,  as  she 
stopped  abruptly.  "I  thought 'twas  a  train,  but 
it 's  only  Dr.  Hornblower." 

True  enough ;  up  the  track  behind  them  came 
the  excellent  doctor,  waving  his  cane  in  amicable 
salutation,  as  he  strode  along  at  a  pace  which 
might  have  put  to  shame  the  wearer  of  the  famous 
seven-league  boots.  His  leathery  skin  was  dark 
and  shining  from  the  violence  of  his  exercise,  as  he 
came  sweeping  on  towards  them,  till  he  paused  by 
the  side  of  Louise,  who  watched  him  with  some 
anxiety  while  he  stood  wheezing  and  panting 
before  her. 

"  My  dear  Miss  Everett,"  he  said,  when  he  could 
regain  his  breath  enough  to  speak  once  more ; 
"  are  you  not  afraid  to  walk  so  rapidly  at  this 
altitude?  I  fear  you  may  over-exert  yourself 
some  day."  He  paused  for  a  moment,  puffing  like 
the  engine  of  an  overloaded  freight  train ;  then  he 
resumed,  "  I  called  at  your  residence,  and  was  so 


UP  THE   GULCH.  173 

regretful  at  not  finding  you  at  home  that  your 
cousin,  Mrs.  Pennypoker,  told  me  that  you  were 
bound  for  the  gulch,  and  assured  me  that  there 
was  —  urn  —  some  prospect  of  my  overtaking,  not 
to  say  catching  up  with  you." 

"  Are  you  out  on  the  round-up  again  to-day, 
Dr.  Hornblower?"  asked  Ned  soberly. 

The  Reverend  Gabriel  looked  at  him  with  a  per 
plexed  countenance. 

"  I  am  afraid  that  I  do  not  perfectly  apprehend 
your  meaning,"  he  said. 

"  Why,  you  said,  last  time  you  called  on  Lou, 
that  you  were  hunting  up  stray  sheep,  and  I  didn't 
know  but  you  were  out  after  some  more  to-day," 
Ned  explained,  with  a  naughty  satisfaction  in  his 
sister's  struggles  to  repress  her  smiles. 

But  Dr.  Hornblower  was  quite  unmoved.  His 
professional  dignity  rose  to  the  surface,  and  his 
voice  took  on  its  Sunday  twang  as  he  replied 
pompously,  — 

"  No,  Edward ;  the  sheep  are  all  in  the  fold. 
To-day  I  am  only  in  search  of  congenial  society." 
And  he  bowed  gravely  to  Louise. 

"  Come  on,  now,"  whispered  Grant,  as  he  joined 
Allie  and  Ned  in  advance,  and  left  Louise  to  follow 
them  with  her  elderly  admirer ;  "  the  doctor  's  lost 


IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 


his  wind  already,  and  can't  keep  up  ;  but,  if  he 
wants  a  walk,  we  '11  give  him  one." 

His  companions  entered  into  the  spirit  of  his 
proposition,  and  they  quickened  their  pace,  after 
casting  one  backward  glance  towards  Louise,  as 
she  lingered  along,  with  a  sort  of  repressed  impa 
tience  of  step  and  manner,  while  she  listened  to 
the  Reverend  Gabriel's  elaborate  explanations  of 
his  reasons  for  following  her.  Then  such  a  race 
as  they  led  him  !  Quitting  the  track,  they  turned 
aside  into  the  open  ground,  covered  with  uneven 
tufts  of  coarse  bunch  grass  and  thickets  of  sage 
brush,  now  racing  down  a  little  hillock,  now  jump 
ing  over  a  tiny  stream  and  forcing  their  way 
through  the  clumps  of  willows  on  the  bank,  but 
always  choosing  the  roughest,  hardest  path,  and 
always  going  at  the  top  of  their  speed,  while  Louise 
and  the  doctor  panted  and  floundered  along  too 
far  in  the  rear  to  be  heard  in  their  calls  for  mercy. 
Even  Allie  was  beginning  to  be  exhausted  when, 
a  few  hundred  feet  above  the  mouth  of  the 
gulch,  Grant  turned  abruptly  to  the  right  and 
scrambled  up  the  steep  hillside  leading  to  the 
cemetery. 

"  There  !  "  he  chuckled,  while  Ned  and  Allie, 
breathless  with  laughing  and  with  their  rapid  climb, 


UP  THE   GULCH.  1/5 

dropped  down  on  the  ground  beside  him  ;  "  we  '11 
give  him  a  rest  when  he  gets  up  here.  If  he  's 
going  to  come  along  and  spoil  all  our  fun,  he  must 
pay  for  it;  but  he  '11  be  tired  by  this  time." 

"  I  wonder  if  he  '11  ever  get  up  here  alive,"  said 
Allie,  as  she  reached  out  to  the  nearest  bush,  to 
pick  a  bit  of  fur  from  the  twig  which  had  caught 
it  from  some  passing  cottontail.  "  You  almost 
used  me  up,  and  I  don't  believe  Miss  Lou  could 
have  gone  on  much  farther,  so  I  shouldn't  wonder 
if  he  was  pretty  nearly  dead." 

"Well,  'twould  be  a  nice,  convenient  place  for 
the  funeral;  only  I  shouldn't  be  surprised  if  he 
stuck,  half  way  up  here,"  suggested  Ned,  comfort 
ably  lying  on  his  back,  and  fanning  himself  with  the 
hat  which  Allie  had  tossed  aside.  "  No  ;  here  he 
comes,"  he  added,  as  the  Reverend  Gabriel's  wide- 
brimmed  straw  hat  and  flushed  face  appeared  over 
the  brow  of  the  hill,  followed  by  Louise,  looking 
rosy  and  mischievous,  but  as  fresh  as  she  had  done 
at  the  start. 

"  Come  over  to  this  tree,  doctor,  and  sit  down  here 
in  the  shade  while  you  rest,"  she  said  kindly,  as  she 
led  the  way  to  the  spot  where  the  boys  were 
stretched  out  on  the  grass. 

There  was  an  unwonted  gentleness  in  her  voice, 


IN  BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 


for  she  had  been  quick  to  discover  the  impish  in 
tention  of  her  brothers,  and  was  anxious  to  atone 
for  their  lack  of  courtesy  towards  an  acquaintance 
whom  she  had  always  regarded  as  an  old  man,  on 
the  down-hill  side  of  life.  In  spite  of  herself  she 
had  been  amused  at  the  doctor's  frantic  efforts  to 
keep  up  with  her  own  firm,  quick  pace,  and  at  his 
urgent  entreaties  that  she  should  tell  him  if  he 
walked  too  fast  for  her.  Nevertheless,  as  she 
seated  herself  beside  her  young  brothers,  she  was 
resolving  to  give  them  a  lecture  upon  the  sins  of 
the  afternoon,  so  soon  as  she  could  get  them  in  a 
place  of  safety. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  doctor  appeared  to  be 
strangely  annoyed  over  something,  although  she 
was  unable  to  discover  the  cause  of  his  trouble. 
In  obedience  to  her  inviting  gesture,  he  had  spread 
out  his  large  blue  silk  handkerchief  on  the  ground 
by  her  side,  and  seated  himself  upon  it.  Then  he 
started  to  remove  his  hat  ;  but  he  had  no  sooner 
raised  it  a  little  from  his  head  than  he  hastily 
clapped  it  on  again,  with  a  little  exclamation  of 
surprise  and  displeasure. 

"  I  do  hope  that  these  bad  boys  haven't  given 
you  too  hard  a  climb,  doctor,"  Louise  was  saying 
politely,  while  she  turned  to  frown  down  any  fresh 


UP  THE   GULCH.  1 77 

demonstrations  on  the  part  of  Grant,  who  was  evi 
dently  plotting  some  new  mischief. 

"  Um  —  m  —  ah  —  no  —  at  least,  I  beg  your 
pardon,  but  what  was  it  you  said?"  inquired  the 
doctor,  so  abstractedly  that  Louise  looked  at  him 
in  astonishment. 

The  Reverend  Gabriel  sat  with  his  face  slightly 
turned  away  from  her.  He  was  tilting  his  hat  so 
that,  on  the  farther  side,  it  was  raised  an  inch  or 
two  from  his  head,  while,  with  his  disengaged  hand, 
he  was  feeling  carefully  about  underneath  it,  as  if 
in  search  of  some  missing  object.  His  face,  mean 
while,  was  rapidly  assuming  every  appearance  of 
trouble  and  distress,  which  became  more  and  more 
acute  with  every  fresh  motion  of  his  hand.  Louise 
watched  him  compassionately,  sure  that  something 
was  amiss,  but  not  daring  to  offer  to  come  to  his 
assistance  ;  then,  thinking  to  spare  him  any  added 
mortification,  she  looked  away  towards  the  valley. 

A  lovely  picture  lay  at  her  feet,  for  the  canon 
opened  out  before  her  eyes  in  all  the  grandeur  of 
its  mountainous  surroundings,  while  the  little  town 
in  its  bosom  was  softened  and  beautified  by  the 
kindly  autumnal  haze,  which  took  away  the  crude 
shabbiness  of  its  detail  and  brought  it  into  har 
mony  with  the  rugged  landscape  about  it.  Beyond 


1 78  IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

the  town  lay  the  creek,  and  over  it  all  floated  the 
heavy  pall  of  thick  white  smoke,  which  seemed  to 
be  supported  on  the  tall  red  chimneys  of  the 
smelter  buildings.  The  sun  was  dropping  behind 
the  mountains,  and  already  the  town  lay  in  shadow, 
while  the  last  beams  lingered  upon  the  cloud  of 
smoke  which  flushed  to  a  pale  pink,  then  deep 
ened  to  a  rosy  glow.  The  girl's  eyes  rested  on  the 
scene  below  her ;  then,  surprised  at  the  continued 
silence  of  her  escort,  she  glanced  at  him  once  more. 
He  was  still  groping  about  underneath  his  hat, 
with  the  same  strained,  upward  roll  to  his  eyes ; 
but,  as  she  looked  at  him,  a  new  light  burst  in 
upon  Louise's  mind,  for  two  long  locks  of  tawny 
hair  had  straggled  down  over  his  right  ear,  and 
lay  in  a  feeble  ringlet  against  the  top  of  his  tall 
collar.  The  Reverend  Gabriel's  wrist  brushed 
against  them ;  he  felt  of  them  inquiringly ;  then  he 
deliberately  took  off  his  hat  to  show  the  top  of  his 
head  shorn  of  the  glory  of  his  curl,  and  the  long 
ends  of  hair  hanging  in  elf-locks  about  his  face. 

"  Miss  —  um  —  Miss  Everett,"  he  began  hesitat 
ingly,  while  a  dark  flush  rose  on  his  weather- 
beaten  cheeks;  "Miss  Everett,  I  am  exceedingly 
sorry  to  trouble  you,  but" —  he  paused;  then 
went  on  desperately ;  "  in  fact,  could  you  be  good 


UP  THE   GULCH.  1/9 

enough  to  lend  me  a  hairpin?  The  exertion  of 
my  climb  has  removed  mine  from  its  accustomed 
place,  and  I  fear  that  my  hair  may  be  slightly 
disarranged." 

The  silence  that  followed  was  unbroken  while 
Louise  felt  about  among  her  braids  and  drew  out 
a  long,  slender  pin ;  but  when  the  doctor  put  his 
hat  down  on  the  ground  by  his  side,  carefully 
rolled  up  his  hair  over  his  two  forefingers,  spread 
it  into  the  usual  long  curl,  and  fastened  it  into  its 
place,  Allie  and  Ned  fell  into  an  uncontrollable  fit 
of  giggling.  But,  for  the  once,  Grant's  attention 
was  distracted,  for  he  was  gazing  steadily  towards 
the  engine  house  at  the  mouth  of  the  mine. 

"  Say,  Lou,"  he  exclaimed  ;  "  what 's  going  on 
down  there?  Everybody's  rushing  over  to  the 
mine  ;  something  must  be  wrong." 

Louise's  eyes  followed  the  direction  of  his  hand. 

"  There  's  some  trouble,  down  there,"  she  said, 
rising  abruptly.  "  Will  you  excuse  us,  Dr.  Horn- 
blower,  if  we  go  down  without  waiting  to  get 
rested?  I  am  always  a  little  anxious  about  my 
father."  And  she  hurried  away  down  the  hill, 
leaving  the  Reverend  Gabriel  to  adjust  his  hairpin 
at  his  ease,  while  he  reflected  upon  the  unsatis 
factory  nature  of  his  walk. 


CHAPTER  XL 

"  SWEET  CHARITY'S  SAKE." 

"  You  see,"  Howard  was  explaining  to  Ned,  that 
evening, 4<  he  'd  put  in  his  charge  for  the  blast,  and 
was  tamping  it  down  all  right;  but  he  kicked 
over  his  drill,  and  the  end  fell  on  an  extra  pack 
age  of  giant  powder." 

"  I  know  that,"  interrupted  Ned.  "  Papa,  said 
he  was  outrageously  careless,  to  have  any  of  the 
stuff  lying  around  loose  ;  and  't  was  a  wonder  that 
there  weren't  any  more  men  near  enough  to  be 
killed.  Poor  old  Mike  !  He  's  worked  in  the  mine 
ever  since  't  was  first  opened,  and  he  was  one  of 
their  best  men." 

"  I  don't  see  how  he  came  to  be  so  careless, 
then,"  said  Ma*jorie,  wisely  shaking  her  head  over 
the  matter.  "  I  should  suppose  he  'd  have  known 
better  by  this  time." 

"  They  do  know  better,"  said  Ned  thoughtfully; 

"  only  they  got  hardened  to  the   risk    and    don't 

think  much  about  it,  or  else    say  their  luck  will 

hold  out.     But  Mike  has  the  worst  of  it.      Do  you 

180 


"SWEET  CHARITY'S  SAKE."  181 

know,  this  is  the  first  accident  in  the  Blue  Creek  I 
ever  remember,  and  I  used  to  see  Mike  'most 
every  day,  so  I  can't  get  to  believe  it  a  bit.  It 
seems  as  if  it  couldn't  be  true." 

"  Papa  was  all  broken  up  to-night,"  added 
Grant.  "  He  knows  all  the  old  foremen,  and 
Mike  was  the  best  one  of  them  all." 

"  I  believe  I  'd  rather  die  'most  any  way  than 
be  blown  up,"  said  Allie,  with  a  shudder.  "  It 
must  be  so  hard  for  his  family.  But  didn't  you 
say  somebody  else  was  hurt,  Howard?" 

"  Just  one  boy,"  answered  Howard,  rising  and 
walking  nervously  about  the  room,  as  the  scene 
came  freshly  to  his  mind.  "  I  don't  know  who 
he  was,  for  nobody  seemed  to  be  sure  of  his 
name.  He  had  dark  hair,  and  was  about  Charlie 
Mac 's  size,  I  should  think.  They  brought  him 
up  in  the  cage  just  as  Charlie  and  I  stopped  at 
the  shaft,  and  the  first  thing  we  knew,  we  were 
right  beside  him." 

"  What's  it  going  to  do  to  him?  asked  Marjorie, 
as  her  bright  face  grew  very  serious  at  the  picture 
that  Howard  had  brought  before  her. 

"  No  one  knew,  for  the  doctor  wasn't  there,  of 
course,  and  they  took  him  right  off  home.  Papa 
said  he  was  an  English  boy  that  lived  over  the 


1 82  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

creek,"  said  Grant,  stretching  himself  out  on  the 
sofa,  with  his  heels  on  the  cushion. 

Marjorie  sprang  up  and  shook  herself,  with  a 
little  shiver. 

"  Don't  let 's  talk  about  it  any  more,"  she  ex 
claimed.  "  It  just  makes  me  sick  to  think  of  it." 

"  But  it 's  there,  all  the  same,  whether  we  talk 
about  it  or  not ;  and  if  you  'd  seen  it,  as  we  did, 
you  couldn't  forget  it,  even  if  you  did  keep  still," 
said  Howard  soberly;  and  Allie  added, — 

"  Besides,  maybe  if  we  talk  about  it  we  can 
find  out  there  's  something  to  do,  to  help  out." 

For  an  hour,  the  five  young  people,  gathered 
in  the  Everetts'  parlor,  had  been  telling  over  the 
details  of  the  accident.  As  Ned  had  said,  it  had 
been  a  long  time  since  the  Blue  Creek  had  been 
visited  by  an  accident  like  those  which  so  fre 
quently  occurred  in  the  neighboring  mines,  and 
this,  killing,  as  it  did,  one  of  the  oldest  and  best- 
known  of  the  miners,  had  created  an  intense  ex 
citement  in  the  little  town.  Immediately  following 
the  explosion,  there  had  been  put  in  circulation  a 
report  of  the  accident  so  exaggerated  that  it  had 
brought  to  the  spot  the  wives  of  half  the  miners  in 
the  camp,  each  one  of  whom  was  confident  that  her 
husband  was  among  the  twenty  or  more  men  said 


"  SWEET  CHARITY'S  SAKE."  183 

to  have  been  killed.  It  had  been  this  hasty  gath 
ering  which  had  caught  Grant's  eye ;  and  the 
Everetts  and  Allie  had  hurried  down  into  the 
town  just  in  time  to  learn  the  truth  that  but  one 
man  was  killed,  and  to  watch  the  excited  groups 
as  they  slowly  dispersed,  so  noisy  in  their  joy  that 
their  own  friends  had  escaped,  that  they  forgot  to 
give  more  than  a  passing  thought  to  poor,  careless 
Mike,  whose  working  days  were  ended.  But  that 
came  later;  and  among  all  his  mourners  there 
were  none  more  sincere  than  the  little  group  at 
the  Everetts',  who  knew  and  appreciated  the  real 
worth  of  the  jovial,  brawny  Irishman,  whose  pleas 
ant  word  and  helping  hand  were  extended  to  all 
with  whom  he  ever  came  in  contact.  They  were 
still  talking  of  him  when  the  bell  rang ;  and,  a 
moment  later,  Wang  Kum  ushered  Dr.  Brownlee 
into  the  parlor.  At  sight  of  him,  Marjorie  sprang 
up  impulsively. 

"  Oh,  doctor,  tell  us  about  the  poor  boy  !  How 
is  he?  "she  asked  abruptly,  without  waiting  for 
any  formal  greeting. 

"  If  you  mean  the  one  who  was  hurt  at  the  mine 
this  afternoon,"  the  doctor  was  beginning,  when 
Ned  hastily  interposed,  — 

"  Hold   on  a  minute,  Dr.  Brownlee ;   but  don't 


1 84  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

sit  down  in  that  chair.  There  's  something  wrong 
about  the  stuff  it 's  covered  with ;  't  isn't  real 
leather,  and  it  melts  and  gets  sticky  in  summer,  or 
when  there  's  a  hot  fire.  You  'd  better  steer  clear 
of  it.  We  mean  to  keep  it  out  of  the  way." 

"  You  might  use  it  for  a  trap,"  suggested  the 
doctor  laughingly,  as  he  pushed  aside  the  great 
easy-chair,  and  settled  himself  in  a  willow  rocker. 
Then  his  face  grew  grave  again,  as  he  turned  back 
to  Marjorie.  "  He  's  as  badly  hurt  as  he  can  be," 
he  went  on.  "  He'll  get  over  it,  but  he'll  never 
be  able  to  do  anything  more.  He  hasn't  come  to 
his  senses  yet,  and  I  wish  he  needn't,  for  the 
present,  for  he  has  a  hard  time  before  him,"  he 
added,  as  he  rose  to  meet  Louise,  who  came  into 
the  room  just  then. 

"  I  'm  a  little  upset  to-night,"  he  said  apologeti 
cally,  in  answer  to  her  exclamation  about  the  cold 
ness  of  his  hand.  "  To  be  perfectly  honest,  this  is 
my  first  accident  case ;  and  it 's  a  very  different 
thing  from  seeing  people  quietly  ill  in  bed,  even  if 
you  know  they  can't  get  well.  I  was  at  the  house 
when  they  brought  him  in,  and  I  hope  I  sha'n't 
often  have  to  go  through  such  a  scene  again." 

"  Tell  me  about  it,"  said  Louise,  with  a  gentle 
sympathy  which  lent  a  new  grace  to  her  beauty. 


"SWEET  CHARITY'S  SAKE."  185 

"  I  'm  not  afraid  to  hear,  and  perhaps  I  can  do 
something  for  them  by  and  by." 

And  the  doctor  told,  forgetting  himself,  and 
even  the  charming  young  woman  before  him,  as  he 
went  on  with  the  story  of  the  mother's  ^frantic 
sorrow  over  her  only  son,  of  the  boy's  half-con 
scious  suffering,  and  of  the  long,  helpless  life  before 
him.  The  girl's  eyes  filled  with  tears  as  she 
listened,  though  her  pity  for  the  lad  was  mingled 
with  a  new  admiration  for  the  speaker.  The  tale 
did  not  lie  entirely  in  the  mere  words  describing 
the  accident;  but,  under  all  that,  it  told  of  the 
generous,  kindly  sympathy  of  the  true  doctor,  who 
shrinks  from  the  sight  of  pain,  even  while  he  gives 
his  life  to  watching  and  helping  it. 

Two  weeks  later  Marjorie  was  spending  a  stormy 
afternoon  at  the  Burnams',  when  Ned  appeared  on 
the  piazza. 

"  Hullo  !  "  he  exclaimed,  as  he  furled  his  drip 
ping  umbrella,  and  shook  himself  out  of  his  rubber 
coat.  "  You  'd  better  believe  I  'm  wet.  Lou  went 
off  before  it  rained,  and  I  had  to  pack  her  rubbers 
and  umbrella  over  to  her.  It 's  no  joke  to  walk  a 
mile  in  such  a  pour." 

" Where  is  she?"  asked  Allie,  while  she  hospi 
tably  drew  up  a  chair  for  her  guest. 


1 86  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

"  Over  the  creek  with  that  boy  of  hers.  She 
puts  in  ever  so  much  time  there,  since  he 's  better. 
She  says  he  's  crazy  to  read  and  be  read  to,  so  she 
goes  over  'most  every  day,"  responded  Ned,  as  he 
wriggled  away  from  the  too  exuberant  caresses  of 
Ben. 

"  How  is  he  getting  on?  "  inquired  Marjorie. 

"  All  right,  as  much  as  he  can.  Lou  says  he  's 
bright  and  knows  a  good  deal." 

"  How  kind  she 's  been  to  him !  "  said  Allie 
thoughtfully.  "  And  Charlie,  too.  He  buys  lots 
of  things  for  him,  and  sends  them  over  by  Dr. 
Brownlee." 

"  Good  for  Charlie  Mac  !  That 's  just  like  him," 
said  Ned  enthusiastically.  "  Where  is  he,  any 
how?" 

"We  supposed  he  was  over  at  your  house  with 
Grant,"  answered  Howard  from  the  corner  where 
he  sat,  industriously  whittling  at  a  set  of  small 
wooden  pegs. 

"  It  must  be  nice  to  have  money,  and  do  all  sorts 
of  things  like  that,"  sighed  Marjorie.  "  I  can't 
afford  to  buy  books  and  fruit,  for  I  'm  always  short 
on  my  allowance ;  and  mamma  won't  let  me  give 
up  my  lessons,  even  for  one  day,  so  I  can't  do 
what  Miss  Lou  does," 


"  SWEET  CHARITY'S  SAKE."  1 87 

"  Poor  Marj  !  It's  a  hard  case;  for  time's 
money,  and  you  haven't  any  of  either,"  remarked 
Howard. 

"  Wait  a  minute  !  "  she  answered,  starting  from 
her  chair,  and  pacing  up  and  down  the  room,  as 
was  her  habit  when  much  absorbed.  "  I  'm  getting 
hold  of  an  idea." 

11  Hold  on,  then,  and  don't  let  it  go,"  advised 
Ned,  dodging  the  sofa  pillow  that  Marjorie  hurled 
at  him. 

"  Listen  !  "  she  commanded  imperatively.  "  It's 
really  and  truly  a  good  plan.  You  know  we 
haven't  any  too  much  money,  for  we  all  of  us 
spend  our  allowances  faster  than  we  get  them  ;  but 
let's  begin  to  save,  and  put  it  all  together,  till  by 
and  by  we  can  send  him  something." 

"  Good,  Marjorie  !  What  a  splendid  idea  !  " 
exclaimed  Allie,  fired  with  zeal  at  the  thought. 

"  But,  I  say,"  remonstrated  Howard  ;  "  how  long 
are  you  going  to  keep  up  the  scheme  ?  I  can  save 
like  a  house  afire,  for  a  little  while ;  but  Christmas 
is  coming,  and  I  Ve  promised  to  give  Allie  a  rub 
ber  doll,  and  charity  begins  at  home,  you  know. 
I  'm  willing  to  help  on  your  lad  for  a  month  or  so ; 
but  let 's  put  a  limit  to  it." 

"  I  didn't  think  you  'd  be  so  stingy,  Howard," 


1 88  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

said  Marjorie,  turning  on  him  a  gaze  of  virtuous 
sorrow. 

"  'T  isn't  stingy,"  retorted  Howard  ;  "  it's  com 
mon  sense,  I  'm  as  sorry  for  him  as  you  are  ;  but  I 
think  we  'd  better  go  easy  on  it  a  little,  and  see 
how  we  come  out." 

"Let's  try  it  for  a  month,"  interposed  Allie 
hastily,  for  she  saw  that  Marjorie  was  growing 
indignant.  "  If  we  save  all  we  can,  we  shall  have  a 
good  deal  by  that  time.  What  shall  we  get  him?" 

"  A  whole  set  of  Henty's  books,"  suggested  Ned 
promptly. 

"No;  I  think  he'd  like  a  tool-chest  better," 
said  Howard,  eyeing  with  disfavor  the  shabby 
knife  in  his  hand. 

"  What  an  idea,  Howard  !  He  couldn't  use  a 
tool-chest,  even  if  he  had  one,"  said  Allie,  laughing 
disrespectfully  at  her  brother's  suggestion.  "  We 
want  to  get  him  something  he  could  have  the  good 
of  all  the  time.  What  do  you  say,  Marjorie?" 

"  Miss  Lou  said  he  used  to  sing  a  good  deal," 
observed  Marjorie,  her  virtue  coming  to  the  sur 
face  once  more.  "Why  wouldn't  it  be  nice  to  get 
him  one  of  the  new  hymnals ;  a  great  big  one, 
with  all  the  tunes  in  it?  I  think  he'd  find  it  very 
comforting." 


"SWEET  CHARITY'S  SAKE."  189 

A  pause  followed  her  words ;  then  the  boys 
burst  into  a  shout  of  laughter.  Marjorie  looked  a 
little  aggrieved. 

"  I  don't  see  what  you  're  laughing  at,"  she  said, 
with  a  suspicion  of  a  pout.  "  Hymns  are  a  great 
deal  better  for  such  people  than  your  crazy  old 
books  and  tool-chests." 

"  Don't  be  a  jay,  Marjorie,"  said  Ned  bluntly. 
"  He  isn't  any  more  such  people  than  we  are ;  and 
because  a  fellow  is  down  on  his  luck  he  doesn't 
want  everybody  shying  coffins  at  him.  But  here 
comes  Grant ;  let 's  see  what  he  says.  Then  we  can 
save  up  for  a  month,  and  see  how  much  we  get ; 
after  that,  we  can  tell  better  what  to  do  with  it." 

For  the  next  four  weeks  a  spirit  of  miserliness 
seemed  to  have  broken  out  among  the  young 
people,  who  scrimped  and  saved  and  denied  them 
selves  for  days,  only  to  succumb  to  the  tempta 
tions  of  "  just  one  little  bit  of  a  treat,"  which  swept 
away  most  of  their  savings  again,  and  left  them  no 
better  off  than  before.  The  day  after  they  had 
taken  their  great  resolution,  they  went  down  town 
in  a  body,  and  invested  most  of  the  funds  at  the 
disposal  of  the  syndicate  in  an  elaborate  toy  bank, 
in  the  form  of  a  dog  who  stolidly  swallowed  their 
stray  bits  of  silver  and  nickel  into  an  iron  strong- 


IN  BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 


box  below,  which  nothing  but  a  powerful  hammer 
could  ever  succeed  in  opening.  As  soon  as  this 
purchase  was  made,  and  a  nest-egg  solemnly 
deposited  in  its  miniature  vault,  their  zeal  cooled, 
and  the  dog  was  left  in  Allie's  keeping  for  a  week 
of  slow  starvation.  It  is  true  that  Charlie  often 
begged  to  be  allowed  to  contribute  from  his  own 
more  abundant  resources  ;  but  it  had  been  agreed 
that  he  could  only  add  one  fifth  to  the  combined 
offerings  of  the  others  ;  so,  though  the  end  of  the 
month  was  fast  approaching,  the  bank  was  still 
nearly  as  light  as  when  it  came  from  the  store,  and 
only  responded  with  a  faint  rattle  to  Allie's  fre 
quent  shakings. 

Matters  were  in  this  condition,  one  day,  when 
Grant  dropped  in  for  one  of  his  frequent  short  calls 
on  Marjorie. 

"Mustn't  stay,"  he  answered  briefly;  "  I  'm  on 
my  way  down  to  get  my  hair  cut.  I  'm  going  to 
try  Charlie  Mac's  barber;  he  gets  a  better  shape 
on  your  hair,  somehow." 

"  Extravagant  boy  !  "  said  Marjorie  reproach 
fully.  "  You  '11  have  to  pay  him  ever  so  much. 
How  much  does  he  charge,  anyway?  " 

"  Six  bits,"  answered  Grant,  as  he  picked  up  his 
hat,  and  took  hold  of  the  door  knob. 


"SWEET  CHARITY'S  SAKE."  191 

"  That's  perfectly  shameful,"  said  Marjorie. 
"  It's  ever  so  much  more  than  you  generally  pay. 
I  '11  tell  you  what :  T  11  do  it  for  you  for  ten  cents, 
and  you  can  have  all  the  rest  to  put  in  our  bank. 
You  haven't  begun  to  give  your  share." 

"  I  can't  help  it ;  a  fellow  can't  live  on  nothing," 
said  Grant  defensively.  "  I  Ve  only  had  two  sodas 
and  a  new  bat  this  week.  Besides,  I  want  my  hair 
cut  like  Charlie's." 

"  I  should  think  you  would  be  ashamed  to  spend 
so  much  on  just  your  looks,  when  you  think  of  that 
poor,  exploded  boy,"  said  Marjorie  in  a  sanctimo 
nious  tone.  "  And  then,"  she  added  persuasively, 
"  if  you  let  me  cut  it  for  ten  cents,  you  can  spend 
some  for  a  treat  and  put  the  rest  in  the  bank." 

Grant  wavered.  The  prospect  of  having  an  un 
expected  treat,  and  at  the  same  time  of  putting  a 
little  money  into  their  hoard  was  an  attractive  one ; 
but,  after  all,  his  boyish  soul  was  filled  with  a  vain 
desire  to  see  how  his  yellow  hair  would  look,  after 
being  cut  by  Charlie's  man  Moreover,  Charlie's 
barber  was  an  expensive  luxury,  and  Grant  had 
experienced  some  difficulty  in  coaxing  the  neces 
sary  funds  out  of  Mrs.  Pennypoker,  so  he  had  a 
little  natural  misgiving  as  to  her  opinion  of  his 
putting  the  money  to  other  uses. 


IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 


"  You  could  get  a  soda,  and  ever  so  many  pine 
nuts,"  went  on  the  tempter,  touching  her  victim's 
weakest  spot. 

Grant  yielded  a  little. 

"Have  you  ever  cut  anybody's  hair?"  he  de 
manded. 

"No;  but  I  can,  well  enough.  "It's  just  as 
easy."  And  Marjorie  gave  her  hand  an  impres 
sive  sweep  through  the  air.  "I  know  just  exactly 
how,"  she  added. 

"  You  're  sure  you  can  make  it  look  all  right?  " 
asked  Grant  again,  while  there  floated  through  his 
mind  a  blissful  vision  of  himself,  tranquilly  eating 
pine  nuts,  and  of  the  others,  standing  grouped 
about  him,  praising  his  generosity. 

"  Course  I  can;  why  not?  "  said  Marjorie  scorn 
fully.  "  Don't  you  s'pose  I  know  how  a  boy's  hair 
ought  to  look?" 

"  And  you  '11  do  it  for  ten  cents?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  All  right;  sail  in  !  "  And  Grant  dropped  into 
a  chair  and  closed  his  eyes,  as  if  he  were  about  to 
be  decapitated. 

"  You  needn't  think  I  'm  going  to  do  it  here  in 
the  parlor,"  said  Marjorie.  "It's  going  to  make 
an  awful  muss  ;  you  must  come  out  of  doors." 


"SWEET  CHARITY'S  SAKE."  193 

"You  needn't  think  I'm  going  to  freeze,"  re 
torted  the  victim,  opening  his  eyes  to  glare  at  her 
belligerently.  "  If  I  give  you  the  job,  and  pay 
you  all  that  for  it,  I  'm  going  to  have  something  to 
say  about  the  way  it's  done.  You  can  spread 
down  a  paper,  if  you  're  afraid." 

"  Well,"  said  Marjorie  reluctantly;  "  I  don't  know 
but  'twould  be  cold  on  the  piazza.  Wait  a  min 
ute,  and  I  '11  be  ready." 

Her  preparations  were  quickly  made.  A  layer 
of  newspapers  was  spread  over  the  carpet,  and  a 
chair  set  out  in  the  middle  of  the  room.  Then  she 
tied  a  blue  checked  apron  around  Grant's  neck, 
and  announced  herself  as  in  readiness. 

"  Sit  down  there,"  she  commanded,  as  she  dived 
into  a  box  of  scrap-book  materials  for  a  pair  of 
paste-stained  scissors  ;  and  don't  you  dare  to 
wiggle,  for  I  shall  cut  you  if  you  do."  And  she 
gave  the  scissors  an  expressive  clash  above  his 
head. 

"  All  right,"  said  Grant  again,  as  he  once  more 
closed  his  eyes  and  assumed  a  look  of  abject 
misery. 

Then  silence  fell  upon  the  room,  and  for  a  long 
half  hour  the  stillness  was  only  broken  by  the 
clatter  of  the  loose-jointed  scissors,  and  an  occa- 


194  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

sional  moan  from  Grant,  when  the  blunt  points 
collided  with  his  skin  with  more  than  ordinary 
vigor.  With  one  hand  clutching  the  boy's  yellow 
head  for  support,  Marjorie  stood  over  him,  clipping 
and  trimming,  then  stopping  to  contemplate  the 
result  of  her  labors,  before  attacking  a  new  spot. 
She  had  started  out  upon  her  undertaking  valiantly 
enough ;  but  a  dozen  reckless  slashes  had  begun  to 
awaken  some  slight  misgivings  in  her  mind,  and  she 
proceeded  more  slowly  and  with  frequent  pauses, 
while  an  anxious  pucker  about  her  brows  showed 
that  she  was  not  entirely  satisfied  with  her  work. 
Worst  of  all,  Grant  was  beginning  to  grow  restive. 

"  'Most  through?  "he  had  inquired  some  time 
before. 

But  Marjorie  had  consoled  him  with  assurances 
of  his  speedy  release ;  and  he  had  resigned  himself 
to  the  inevitable  and  sat  quiet  for  ten  minutes 
longer.  Then  he  burst  out  again. 

"  Say,  Marjorie,"  he  protested ;  "  you  scratch 
like  fun ;  and  you  Ve  been  long  enough  about  it 
to  cut  a  dozen  hairs.  Hurry  up,  there  !  " 

"  I  'm  almost  through,"  she  answered  hastily. 
"Your  hair's  so  tough  it  takes  me  longer  than  I 
thought  'twould." 

"  How  's  it  going  to  look?  " 


"SWEET  CHARITY'S  SAKE."  195 

"  Lovely !  "  responded  Marjorie,  with  a  fervor 
which  she  was  far  from  feeling,  while  she  made  a 
few  hurried  clips  at  a  long  lock  which,  in  some 
way,  had  escaped  her  vigilance.  "  There  !  "  she 
added.  "  That 's  all.  You  can  get  up." 

Grant  rose  and  shook  himself;  then,  with  the 
apron  still  hanging  about  his  neck,  he  marched  to 
the  nearest  mirror  and  gazed  at  the  reflection  of 
his  shorn  head.  It  was  a  strange  picture  that  met 
his  eyes.  His  head  was  encircled  with  narrow 
furrows,  where  the  scissors  had  done  their  work  so 
well  that  not  a  spear  of  hair  rose  above  the  bare 
skin.  These  ridges  were  intermingled  with  patches 
of  stubble  of  varying  length ;  while,  here  and 
there,  a  long  lock  had  escaped  entirely,  and,  in  the 
lack  of  its  former  support,  now  stood  out  from  his 
scalp  at  an  aggressive  angle,  like  the  fur  on  the 
back  of  an  angry  cat.  The  whole  effect  resembled 
nothing  so  much  as  a  piece  of  half-cleared  wood 
land,  where  the  workman's  axe  had  here  levelled 
everything  to  the  ground,  here  left  a  clump  or  two 
of  bushes,  and  here  spared  an  occasional  giant  tree 
which  towered  far  above  its  fallen  comrades,  in  the 
conscious  pride  of  its  unimpaired  strength. 

The  result  was  novel ;  but  Grant  appeared  to  fail 
to  appreciate  it,  for  when  he  turned  back  to  face 


196         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

Marjorie  again  his  brown  eyes  were  blazing,  and 
he  was  well-nigh  speechless  with  indignation. 

"  You  beastly  fraud !  "  he  shouted,  while  he 
rubbed  his  hand  over  his  denuded  pate,  with  a 
tenderly  caressing  motion,  as  if  to  console  it  for  its 
appearance. 

" What's  the  matter?"  asked  Marjorie  faintly. 

"  Matter !  "  stormed  Grant.  "  Look  at  my 
head  and  see  for  yourself.  You  said  you  could 
cut  my  hair  all  right,  and  you've  just  spoiled  it  all. 
I  won't  pay  you  one  cent.  It  '11  take  weeks  and 
weeks  for  it  to  get  back  again." 

"It  looks  all  right,"  said  Marjorie  stubbornly; 
"  and  you  've  got  to  pay  me.  You  said  you  would, 
and  you  never  lie.  The  time  I  spent  on  it  is  worth 
more  than  ten  cents,  anyway." 

"  I  sha'n't  pay  you,"  retorted  Grant  doggedly. 

"  You  shall !  " 

"  I  won't !  " 

"  Then  I  '11  tell  Allie  and  Charlie,  and  all  the  rest, 
that  you  're  stingy  and  a  great  big  cheat." 

"  Tell  away  if  you  're  mean  enough." 

"And  I'll  tell  Mrs.  Pennypoker;  and  she'll 
send  you  to  bed  without  your  supper,  for  stealing 
her  money." 

"  Didn't  steal  it !  " 


"SWEET  CHARITY'S  SAKE."  197 

"  Yes,  you  did,  too  !  She  gave  it  to  you  for 
something,  and  you  were  going  to  spend  part  of 
it  for  soda;  that's  stealing." 

"T isn't,  either!" 

"  'T  is,  too,  and  you  know  it !  And  if  you  aren't 
ashamed  of  it  why  don't  you  want  me  to  tell 
her?" 

Grant  saw  that  his  enemy  had  outflanked  him, 
and  that  his  only  possible  course  was  to  make  the 
best  terms  he  could. 

"  Now,  see  here,"  he  said  more  quietly,  as  he 
pointed  to  his  head  again ;  "  this  isn't  worth  any 
thing;  but  you  Ve  cornered  me,  so  I  can't  get  out. 
But,  if  I  pay  you,  you  must  give  me  back  a  nickel, 
to  pay  for  the  hole  you  snicked  out  of  my  ear." 

Marjorie's  face  fell.  She  had  been  hoping  that 
he  would  not  notice  the  little  red  spot  on  the  tip  of 
his  left  ear. 

"  And  then,"  continued  Grant  remorselessly ; 
"you  can  just  put  on  your  hat,  and  come  along 
with  me  to  Allie's.  We  '11  each  put  a  nickel  in  the 
bank,  and  then  we  '11  be  square.  But  you  'd  better 
believe  I  '11  tell  the  boys  who  did  this,  so  they  won't 
get  taken  in  as  I  did." 

A  week  later,  Charlie  and  Allie  opened  the  bank 
and  counted  the  funds.  Only  sixty-five  cents  had 


198         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

accumulated  there ;  Allie's  face  fell  as  she  sur 
veyed  the  meagre  hoard. 

"  Hush  up  !  "  commanded  Charlie,  as  he  dropped 
something  yellow  and  shining  into  her  lap.  "  I 
was  in  a  bad  fix  last  summer,  and  I  know  how  't  is, 
so  I  ought  to  help  on  more  than  the  rest  of  you. 
You  just  keep  still  and  don't  say  anything  to  the 
others." 

And  no  one  else  ever  knew  the  full  history  of  the 
magazine  that  put  in  its  appearance  at  the  begin 
ning  of  the  following  month,  with  a  greeting  to  the 
stranger  boy  from  his  friends  across  the  creek. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

HOME    WITHOUT   A   MOTHER. 

THERE  was  mutiny  in  the  Burnam  household, 
It  had  broken  out  the  night  before,  when  Vic  was 
saying  his  prayers  in  the  presence  of  Mrs.  Penny- 
poker,  who  was  supposed  to  be  temporarily  filling 
his  mother's  place.  At  the  petition  for  daily  bread, 
Vic  had  stopped  short. 

"  Go  on,"  said  Mrs.  Pennypoker,  in  slow,  meas 
ured  tones. 

Victor  opened  his  eyes  and  glared  at  her  with 
undevout  opposition. 

"  Don't  want  bread,"  he  said  firmly.  "  Vic 
likes  biskies." 

"  It  means  the  same  thing,  Victor,"  answered 
Mrs.  Pennypoker,  in  her  hard  voice.  "  Now  be 
a  good  little  boy  and  finish  your  prayer,  or  God 
won't  listen  to  you,  another  time,  when  you  are 
asking  him  for  something." 

It  was  then  that  Vic  had  delivered  himself  of 
his  first  baby  heresy,  which  had  been  slowly  work 
ing  in  his  brain  while  Mrs.  Pennypoker  had  been 
109 


2OO         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

urging  him  through  his  devotions,  in  a  manner  so 
unlike  the  tender  gentleness  of  his  pretty  mamma. 

"  I  don't  like  your  God,"  he  said  deliberately, 
as  he  gazed  up  into  the  cold,  dark  eyes  above 
him;  "I  don't  like  your  God  a  bit;  I'm  tired  of 
him.  I  want  my  mamma's."  And,  rising  from 
his  knees,  he  dived  into  bed,  where  he  burst  out 
sobbing  for  mamma;  nor  would  he  be  quieted 
until  MrSo  Pennypoker  had  left  the  room,  and  sent 
Allie  up  to  comfort  her  baby  brother  with  re 
peated  assurances  that  mamma  would  come  by 
and  by. 

Two  days  before 'this,  Mrs.  Burnam  had  received 
a  note  from  her  husband,  saying  that  a  fall  from  his 
horse  had  bruised  and  strained  him  a  little,  and  that 
it  seemed  best  for  him  to  stay  a  few  days  at  a  small 
country  hotel,  not  far  from  his  camp.  In  reality,  it 
was  only  a  slight  affair ;  but  Mrs.  Burnam  had  felt 
so  uneasy  that  she  had  resolved  to  go  to  him,  to 
be  at  hand  in  case  he  might  need  any  of  the  little 
attentions  which  it  would  be  hard  for  him  to  get, 
in  the  small  town  where  he  was  left.  Since  Victor 
would  be  only  an  additional  care,  she  had  decided 
not  to  take  him  with  her;  but,  remembering  the 
emergency  which  had  arisen  during  her  last  ab 
sence,  she  had  begged  Mrs.  Pennypoker  to  take 


HOME   WITHOUT   A   MOTHER.  2OI 

charge  of  the  household  for  the  time  that  she  was 
away  from  home. 

This  arrangement  had  not  met  with  the  entire 
approval  of  the  young  people,  it  must  be  con 
fessed  ;  for  Howard  and  Allie  had  hoped  to  be 
allowed  to  pose  as  heads  of  the  house,  while  Vic 
tor  had  lifted  up  his  voice  in  vigorous  protest 
against  the  intruder.  However,  until  Victor's 
rebellion,  the  second  night,  there  had  been  no 
open  outbreak,  although  there  was  an  undercur 
rent  of  antagonism  between  Mrs.  Pennypoker  and 
the  children,  which  threatened  an  explosion  at  any 
moment.  It  was  a  new  experience  for  Howard 
and  Allie  to  have  their  fun  and  laughter  re 
pressed,  and  they  were  far  from  being  ready  to 
submit  to  it  with  a  good  grace ;  while  Janey  had 
promptly  ranged  herself  upon  their  side,  and 
manifested  a  monkey-like  ingenuity  in  planning 
the  pranks  which  were  making  Mrs.  Pennypoker's 
frown  grow  deeper  at  every  moment. 

"  Just  look  at  Janey !  "  Howard  had  whispered 
to  his  sister,  as  the  maid  came  in  at  dinner-time, 
with  the  strings  of  her  dainty  white  cap  tied  under 
her  chin,  and  the  point  standing  up  from  her  fore 
head  like  an  old  woman's  poke  bonnet. 

Mrs.  Pennypoker  caught  the  whisper.     Putting 


202         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

on  her  glasses,  she  turned  to  glare  at  Janey,  who 
received  her  stare  with  an  unmoved  counte 
nance. 

"  Jane,"  she  said,  with  crushing  dignity ; 
"  go  back  to  the  kitchen,  and  arrange  your  cap 
properly." 

And  Janey  went,  but  it  was  not  until  she  had 
given  the  two  boys  a  look  which  upset  their 
gravity  and  forced  them  to  retire  behind  their 
napkins.  She  was  gone  for  some  moments,  and 
when  she  reappeared  her  cap  was  drawn  far  down 
over  her  face,  and  she  came  tiptoeing  in  with 
short,  mincing  steps,  to  go  through  her  serving 
with  an  exaggerated  elegance,  bowing  and  smirk 
ing  and  flourishing  her  tray,  with  all  the  airs  and 
graces  at  her  command.  However,  there  was 
nothing  to  be  done  about  it,  and  Mrs.  Penny- 
poker  was  forced  to  be  content  with  ignoring  her 
for  the  present,  while  she  frowned  down  any  dem 
onstrations  of  amusement  on  the  part  of  the  chil 
dren.  The  rest  of  the  meal  was  hurried  through  in 
silence,  and  as  soon  as  it  was  over  the  young  peo 
ple  shut  themselves  up  in  Allie's  room,  to  vent 
their  indignation  by  talking  over  the  events  of  the 
past  two  days. 

"  You  don't  catch  anybody  getting  in  ahead  of 


HOME   WITHOUT  A   MOTHER.  2O3 

Janey,  though,"  said  Howard  with  a  chuckle. 
"She's  a  match  for  even  Mrs.  Pennypoker." 

"  I  'm  'most  afraid  she  '11  get  mad  and  go  off," 
said  Allie  anxiously.  "  Mrs.  Pennypoker  has  just 
been  nagging  at  her  all  day  long,  and  Janey  won't 
put  up  with  it.  She  isn't  used  to  it,  as  Wang 
Kum  is." 

"  Even  Wang  Kum  kicked,  the  other  day,"  said 
Charlie,  sitting  down  on  the  footboard  of  the  bed, 
and  swinging  his  heels  while  he  talked.  "  Grant 
told  me  about  it.  Wang  made  a  mistake  and 
threw  away  all  her  soup  she  'd  made,  just  before 
dinner;  and  when  she  scolded  him  for  it,  he  said 
he  't'ought  'twas  dish-water.'  She  gave  him  fits, 
scolded  like  everything,  till  all  at  once  he  drew 
himself  up  and  said :  '  Old  lady  scold  heap 
much ;  Wang  no  be  bossed  by  hens.'  And  he 
turned  and  walked  off,  and  left  her  standing  there, 
with  her  mouth  wide  open." 

"  Good  enough  for  her !  "  applauded  Howard. 
"  I  only  hope  Janey  '11  serve  her  the  same  way." 

"  I  don't  believe  I  do,"  said  Allie  thoughtfully. 
"  She  's  here,  and  we  '11  have  to  make  the  best  of 
her.  But  don't  you  pity  Ned  and  Grant,  to  have 
to  stand  her  all  the  time?" 

The  predicted  explosion  was  not  slow  in  coming. 


204  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

Charlie  had  come  in  after  his  lessons,  the  next 
morning,  clasping  a  huge  watermelon  in  his  arms, 
and,  without  a  word  to  Mrs.  Pennypoker,  he  had 
carried  it  through  to  the  kitchen. 

"  Here,  Janey,"  he  called  ;  "  I  'm  awfully  hungry, 
and  if  you  '11  cut  this  up  for  us  to  eat  now,  before 
lunch,  I  '11  give  you  a  quarter  of  it.  You  'd  better 
do  it,  for  it 's  the  last  one  you  '11  get  this  year." 

With  the  zeal  of  her  melon-loving  race,  Janey's 
eyes  glistened,  as  she  received  the  treasure. 

"Dat's  a  gay  one,  Mars'  Charlie!"  she  ex 
claimed,  as  she  snapped  her  fingers  against  its 
green  rind,  and  listened  delightedly  to  the  clear, 
crisp  sound.  "  Janey  '11  cut  it  right  up  for  you, 
befo'  she  sets  de  table  or  anything.  You  all  likes 
melons  so  well,  you  ought  to  see  'em  we  has  down 
Souf.  Reckon  you  'd  jus'  about  bu'st  you'selves, 
eatin'  'em." 

She  gave  the  melon  one  more  ecstatic  embrace, 
and  dandled  it  fondly  in  her  arms  for  a  moment ; 
then  she  laid  it  carefully  down  on  the  table,  while 
she  went  for  a  knife. 

" '  Wa-a-atermelon ! 

Green  rind,  red  meat; 
All  juicy,  so  sweet. 

Dem  dat  has  money  mus'  come  up  an'  buy; 
And  (k'ln  dat  hasn't  rnus'  stan'  back  an'  cry 
Wa-a-a-atcrmelon ! '  " 


HOME  WITHOUT  A   MOTHER.  205 

She  crooned  to  herself,  as  she  returned  with  the 
knife  in  her  hand,  and  stuck  it  in,  clear  to  the  heart 
of  the  fruit  before  her. 

"  What 's  that,  Janey?"  asked  Allie,  who  had 
followed  Charlie  out  into  the  kitchen. 

"Dat?  Dat's  a  song  I  done  heard  an  ol'  man 
singin',  one  day.  He  had  some  melons  to  sell,  out 
on  de  corner  by  my  mudder's  house,  an'  he  kep' 
a  singin'  it  ober  an*  ober.  Ah,  dat's  a  fine  one  !" 
she  added  contentedly,  as  the  rich  red  heart  of  the 
melon  appeared.  She  paused  for  a  moment,  then 
she  cocked  her  head  on  one  side,  as  she  gazed 
rapturously  at  the  great  piece  which  Charlie  offered 
her.  "  You  all  know  how  me  an'  my  brudder  use' 
to  eat  our  melons,  when  mammy  wan'  roun'  to 
smack  us?  "  she  inquired  suddenly. 

"  How'd  you  do  it?  "  asked  Charlie,  laughing. 

"  Dis  way.  See?  "  And  clutching  the  piece  in 
both  hands,  she  buried  her  face  in  it,  and  began  to 
devour  it,  much  as  a  squirrel  gnaws  the  meat  out 
of  a  walnut. 

So  absorbed  was  she  in  her  enjoyment  of  her 
feast,  that  she  did  not  hear  the  door  open  and 
Mrs.  Pennypoker  come  into  the  kitchen. 

"Jane !  "  said  the  strong  voice. 

Janey  started  at  the  sound,  and  choked  on  a  seed. 


206         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

"  Yes,  mis'/'  she  responded  as  soon  as  she  could 
speak,  while  she  raised  her  head  from  the  rind. 

"What  are  you  doing?  "  demanded  Mrs.  Penny- 
poker  sternly. 

Her  manner  was  not  encouraging.  There  was 
a  defiant  flash  in  Janey's  eyes,  as  she  said  sullenly,  — 

"  Ol'  mis'  done  got  eyes.  What  she  s'pose  I 's 
doin'-?" 

"  But  I  told  you  to  get  the  lunch." 

"  I  was  goin'  to,  in  a  minute ;  but  Mars'  Charlie 
done  wanted  me  to  cut  his  melon,  an'  I  thought 
't  wouldn't  make  no  difference." 

"  You  are  not  here  to  think ;  you  are  here  to  do 
the  work,"  said  Mrs.  Pennypoker  magisterially. 
"  If  I  tell  you  to  do  something,  you  must  do  it." 

At  the  last  words,  Janey  drew  herself  up  to  her 
full  height  and  glared  at  Mrs.  Pennypoker.  Some 
thing  in  the  unconscious  dignity  of  her  figure,  as 
she  stood  there,  seemed  to  dwarf  her  temporary 
mistress  into  insignificance. 

"  You  cyarn'  say  mus'  to  me,"  she  said  in  a  slow, 
repressed  tone.  "  Dese  ain'  no  slave  days,  an  oP 
mis'  cyarn'  make  'em  so.  I  ain'  no  heathen  an'  I 
ain'  no  slave.  My  mammy  bought  herself  an'  her 
husban',  an'  we  's  all  freeborn." 

She  had  moved  forward  a  step  or  two,  and  thrown 


HOME  WITHOUT  A   MOTHER.  20? 

out   her   hand,  while  her   eyes  gleamed  with   an 
angry  luster.     Suddenly  she  controlled  herself. 

"  I  sha'n'  say  no  mo',"  she  went  on  slowly; 
"  'cause  I  might  forget  myself  an'  be  sassy,  an'  I 
don*  wan'  to  do  dat.  But  ol'  mis'  better  not  inter 
fere  with  me,  an'  say  mus',  or  I  '11  pack  my  trunk 
an'  not  come  back  till  Mrs.  Burnam  comes  home. 
She  buys  my  time,  an*  while  I  'm  yere  I  belongs 
to  her ;  but  she  don'  bully  me.  She  }s  a  lady  like 
what  we  use'  ter  have  down  Souf,  befo'  de  war ;  not 
like  you  Yankees." 

Into  her  final  sentence  Janey  had  compressed 
all  the  scorn  of  which  she  was  capable.  For  a 
moment  longer,  she  stood  facing  Mrs.  Pennypoker ; 
then,  turning  on  her  heel,  she  left  the  room. 

Mrs.  Pennypoker  was  the  first  one  of  the  group 
to  come  to  her  senses. 

"  That  girl  shall  leave  the  house  to-night,"  she 
exclaimed  angrily.  "  I  won't  have  her  here  an 
hour  longer." 

"  You  aren't  going  to  send  Janey  off!  "  demanded 
Allie  indignantly. 

"  I  certainly  shall  not  keep  her  after  what  has 
occurred,"  returned  Mrs.  Pennypoker  coldly. 

"  But  you  can't;  she  isn't  yours.  She's  mam 
ma's,"  remonstrated  Allie. 


208         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

"  I  am  taking  your  mother's  place  for  the  pres 
ent,  and  I  shall  not  retain  a  servant  who  is  so 
disrespectful,"  answered  Mrs.  Pennypoker  again. 
"  I  am  surprised  at  you,  Alice,  for  interfering  in  a 
matter  which  does  not  belong  to  you." 

"  It  does  belong  to  me,  too,"  returned  Allie 
mutinously.  "  Janey  's  a  splendid  girl,  and  mam 
ma  just  thinks  everything  of  her.  She  '11  never 
forgive  you,  if  you  send  her  off;  and  what's  more, 
I  hope  she  won't;  so  there,  now!  " 

"  Alice !  "  And  there  was  no  mistaking  the 
meaning  of  Mrs.  Pennypoker's  tone. 

"  I  don't  care  if  't  is  !  "  exclaimed  Allie,  with 
illogical  recklessness.  "  You  're  just  too  mean, 
and  I  don't  blame  Janey  one  bit." 

"  Alice  !  "  repeated  Mrs.  Pennypoker.  "  You 
may  go  to  your  room,  and  not  leave  it  again  to 
day.  I  shall  tell  your  mother  exactly  what  has 
occurred." 

"  Tell  away !  "  returned  Allie.  "  I  just  hope 
you  will.  I  'm  not  afraid  of  mamma;  she  's  not  so 
cross  as  some  people."  And  forcing  back  the 
angry  tears,  she  walked  away  in  the  direction  of 
her  room,  leaving  the  half-frightened  boys  to  look 
after  her  in  silent  sympathy. 

Once  in  the  safe  retreat  of  her  own  room,  Allie's 


HOME   WITHOUT  A   MOTHER.  2OQ 

courage  broke  down,  and,  throwing  herself  on  her 
bed,  she  began  to  cry  convulsively,  as  she  realized 
all  the  injustice  of  her  punishment,  all  the  petty 
tyranny  she  had  borne  for  the  past  three  days. 
For  a  few  moments  the  sobs  came  faster  and 
faster.  Then,  when  her  first  excitement  was  over, 
she  began  to  think.  Mrs.  Pennypoker  ought  to 
be  ashamed  of  herself  for  abusing  them  so ;  and 
how  angry  her  mother  would  be  when  she  knew  it ! 
Perhaps  the  long  day  of  loneliness  and  fasting 
would  make  her  ill ;  then  Mrs.  Pennypoker  would 
be  sorry.  It  might  be  that  she  would  never  get 
over  it,  but  would  go  into  a  decline.  How  they 
would  all  mourn  for  her  !  She  went  on  to  plan  the 
minutest  details  of  her  funeral  with  all  the  gloomy 
cheerfulness  of  an  undertaker ;  but,  when  she  came 
to  fancy  the  loneliness  of  Howard  and  Charlie,  the 
distressing  picture  overcame  her,  and  she  began  to 
sob  once  more.  However,  the  tears  would  not 
flow  quite  so  readily  this  time ;  and,  under  all  her 
pity  for  herself,  she  began  to  wonder  uneasily  if, 
perhaps,  she  had  not  been  a  little  hasty  and  rude 
to  Mrs.  Pennypoker.  It  might  be  that  her  mother 
would  not  altogether  sympathize  with  her,  after  all. 
This  was  not  an  agreeable  thought,  and,  to  silence 
it,  she  sprang  up  and  crossed  the  room  to  put 


2IO  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

some  cold  water  on  her  flushed  and  swollen  face. 
As  she  did  so,  she  saw  a  slip  of  paper  tucked 
under  the  door,  and  she  seized  it  eagerly,  for  it 
was  addressed  to  her,  and  in  Charlie's  writing. 

"  Good  for  you,  Allie  !  "  it  said.  "  Keep  up 
your  pluck  till  afternoon,  and  we  '11  have  some  fun 
then." 

There  was  something  encouraging  in  the  boyish 
sympathy ;  and,  as  Allie  stood  caressingly  rubbing 
the  note  against  her  cheek,  she  found  herself 
wondering  what  he  could  mean  by  his  reference  to 
possible  fun  in  the  afternoon.  The  outlook  for  the 
rest  of  the  day  did  not  seem  to  promise  much  in 
the  way  of  enjoyment ;  but  Allie  knew  her  cousin's 
ingenuity  well  enough  to  rely  upon  his  word,  so 
she  could  resign  herself  to  wait. 

The  next  hour  was  a  long  one  to  the  young 
prisoner,  who  wandered  restlessly  about  the  room, 
or  tried  to  amuse  herself  with  a  book,  although  all 
the  time  she  was  inwardly  dwelling  upon  the 
ignominy  of  her  punishment,  and  dreading  lest  it 
should  reach  the  ears  of  Marjorie  and  the  Everetts, 
or,  worst  of  all,  of  Dr.  Brownlee,  whose  good  opin 
ion  she  especially  desired  to  retain.  At  the  end 
of  the  hour,  Mrs.  Pennypoker  herself  appeared  on 
the  threshold,  with  a  plate  of  crackers  in  one  hand 


HOME  WITHOUT  A   MOTHER.  211 

and  a  glass  of  water  in  the  other.  Without  a  word 
to  the  captive,  she  set  the  meagre  lunch  upon  the 
table,  and  withdrew,  locking  the  door  behind  her. 
At  this  last  insult,  Allie's  temper  flashed  up  again. 
It  was  enough  to  punish  her  so  severely ;  but  it 
was  not  necessary  to  distrust  her  honor,  and  lock 
her  up  like  a  criminal.  At  least,  she  would  not 
touch  the  rations  her  jailer  had  left.  Deliberately 
she  picked  them  up,  and,  going  to  the  window, 
she  threw  out  the  water  with  a  splash,  and  tossed 
the  crackers  after  it.  She  hesitated  for  a  moment, 
and  then  hurled  the  plate  and  glass  after  them, 
with  an  angry  determination  which  sent  them 
crashing  far  across  the  uneven  ground  beneath  her 
window.  That  done,  she  sat  down  to  read  with  a 
quieted  conscience. 

Through  the  closed  door  she  could  hear  Mrs. 
Pennypoker  moving  to  and  fro  about  the  house, 
and  now  and  again  Vic's  baby  voice  fell  upon  her 
ears ;  but,  for  the  most  part,  the  house  was  very 
still.  At  length  she  heard  some  one  calling  her 
name  in  a  low  voice.  Throwing  aside  her  book, 
she  went  to  the  door  and  listened  intently,  till  she 
heard  the  call  repeated.  This  time  it  was  evident 
that  the  sound  came  from  outside  the  window. 
She  hurried  across  the  room  and  threw  it  wide 


212         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANOK. 

open.  In  a  moment  more  Charlie  had  scrambled 
into  the  room. 

"  Hullo  !  "  he  remarked,  as  he  tossed  his  cap 
into  a  chair.  "  You  're  awfully  warm  in  here,  so 
let 's  leave  the  window  open.  We  're  safe  enough, 
for  Mrs.  Pcnnypoker  can't  hear  us.  Besides,  Dr. 
Hornblower  is  in  the  parlor  talking  to  her,  and 
she  won't  know  anything  more  to-day." 

"But  what  are  you  going  to  do?  "  asked  Allie, 
watching  him  in  amazement,  as  he  seated  himself  at 
his  ease  and  unbuttoned  his  light  gray  coat,  to  ex 
pose  to  view  a  great  round  parcel  concealed  inside  it. 

"  I  'm  going  to  spend  the  afternoon  with  you,  of 
course,"  returned  Charlie  composedly.  "  You 
didn't  s'pose  I  was  going  back  on  you  after  the  way 
you  stuck  to  me  last  June?  Well,  not  much!  We 
could  climb  out  of  the  window  and  go  off,  but 
she  'd  be  sure  to  find  it  out,  and  that  would  only 
make  it  worse,  so  we  '11  stay  here  and  have  a  lark." 

"  You  're  a  dear  old  boy,  Charlie  !  "  And  Allie 
embraced  him  tempestuously.  "  But  how  did  you 
ever  stand  it  to  be  shut  in  here  so  long,  last  sum 
mer?  This  last  hour  has  'most  killed  me." 

"  I  wasn't  all  alone,  you  know,  much  of  the 
time.  But,  I  say,  come  off!  "  he  remonstrated,  as 
Allie  renewed  her  demonstrations  of  affection. 


HOME  WITHOUT  A   MOTHER.  213 

"  You  needn't  stand  my  hair  on  end  just  because 
I've  come.  Here's  a  pie  I  sniped  off  the  pantry 
shelf,  for  I  thought  most  likely  you  'd  be  hungry." 

"  I  'm  nearly  starved,"  answered  Allie  gratefully. 
"  Mrs.  Pennypoker  did  bring  me  some  crackers 
this  noon,  though." 

"  Crackers  aren't  much  good,  and  those  are  all 
gone  by  this  time,  aren't  they?"  inquired  Charlie 
scornfully. 

"  Yes,  every  one ;  gone  out  of  the  window," 
returned  her  cousin  disdainfully.  "  Charlie  Mac- 
Gregor,  I  'd  have  starved  to  death  before  I  touched 
one  of  her  old  crackers  !  " 

11  That 's  the  way  to  talk,"  said  Charlie  approv 
ingly.  "  She  's  a  Tartar  and  a  Turk,  Allie,  and  I  'd 
like  to  tell  her  what  I  think  of  her  —  if  I  only 
dared.  But,  if  I  did,  she  'd  just  lock  us  up  in  dif 
ferent  rooms;  and  it's  more  fun  to  be  together." 

"I  did  tell  her —  Oh,  dear,  I  wish  mamma 
would  come  back,"  sighed  Allie.  "  How  shall  we 
ever  stand  it  three  more  days,  Charlie?" 

"  Grin  and  bear  it,  mostly,"  returned  Charlie, 
philosophically.  "  Janey  's  packed  up  her  clothes 
and  gone  off,  and  she  says  she  won't  step  into  this 
house  again  till  auntie  gets  back.  I  don't  blame 
her;  but  Mrs.  Pennypoker '11  have  to  turn  cook, 


214  IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

or  else  send  over  for  Wang.  But  go  on  and  eat 
your  pic,  Allic,  and  you  '11  feel  better.  She  's  a 
Turk,  I  tell  you ;  but  I  '11  see  that  auntie  knows  all 
about  it,  and  I  know  she  won't  think  you  're  a  bit 
to  blame." 

"But,  Charlie,  you  aren't  going  to  stay  here  all 
this  everlasting  afternoon,"  remonstrated  Allie,  as 
her  woe  yielded  to  the  combined  influences  of  her 
cousin's  consolation  and  his  pie.  "  It  isn't  fair  at 
all,  when  you  might  be  off  with  the  boys  having  a 
good  time." 

"  Well,  it  strikes  me  this  ought  to  be  my  in 
nings,"  answered  Charlie  quietly,  while  he  settled 
his  glasses  on  his  nose  and  then  took  up  the  book 
which  his  cousin  had  just  tossed  aside.  "  How 
many  days  and  weeks,  I  'd  like  to  know,  did  you 
stay  in  here  with  me,  when  'twas  hot  and  dark  and 
stuffy  here  !  It 's  only  fair  that  you  should  let  me 
take  my  turn  now.  You  needn't  talk  to  me,  if  you 
don't  want  to ;  but  I  shall  stay  here  as  long  as  I 
choose,  and  you  can't  put  me  out,  so  you  may  as 
well  make  up  your  mind  to  it." 

Two  hours  later,  as  Mrs.  Pennypoker's  step  was 
heard  in  the  hall  outside,  Charlie  quietly  let  him 
self  drop  from  the  window-sill.  Then  he  turned 
back  to  whisper,  — 


HOME   WITHOUT  A   MOTHER.  215 

"  Just  don't  you  say  anything  about  it,  Allie ; 
we  aren't  even  now,  and  we  sha'n't  be,  very  soon. 
Besides,  it 's  worth  all  the  rest  to  have  the  fun  of 
getting  the  inside  track  of  her.  Good-by  till  break 
fast-time  !  "  And  he  vanished  around  the  corner 
of  the  house. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

AT   THE   NINE-HUNDRED    LEVEL. 

LATE  October  had  come,  and  already  the  snow- 
line  was  creeping  down  the  mountain  sides  towards 
the  little  town  in  the  canon.  Occasional  flurries  of 
snow  filled  the  air,  too,  and  the  nights  were  sharp 
and  frosty ;  but  in  the  middle  of  the  day  it  was 
still  warm  and  bright,  with  a  clearer,  more  bracing 
air  than  the  summer  had  given,  an  air  which 
tempted  the  young  people  out  for  long  walks  and 
rides  up  and  down  the  valley.  Louise  often  joined 
them  in  these  expeditions,  and  it  was  no  uncommon 
thing  for  them  to  be  overtaken  by  Dr.  Brownlee, 
who  generally  begged  permission  to  spend  a  leisure 
hour  with  their  party.  This  addition  to  their  num 
ber  was  always  hailed  with  delight  by  the  children  ; 
for  while  the  doctor  usually  took  his  place  by  the 
side  of  Louise,  he  was  never  too  much  absorbed 
in  his  companion  to  join  the  boys  in  their  fun,  or 
to  treat  Allie  and  Marjorie  with  the  gentle  chiv 
alry  which  made  them  feel  so  grown  up  and  ele 
gant,  a  chivalry  that  is  so  rarely  shown  to  children, 
216 


AT  THE  NINE-HUNDRED    LEVEL.  2 1/ 

yet  never  fails  to  afford  them  a  delight  even  more 
keen  than  it  gives  to  their  older  sisters. 

Allie  and  the  boys  were  coming  up  through  the 
town,  one  Saturday  morning,  after  a  brisk  walk  in 
the  clear,  crisp  air.  They  had  passed  "  tin-can- 
dom, "  as  Howard  called  the  open  field  just  below 
the  town,  which  was  thickly  strewn  with  these  in 
digestible  relics  of  past  feasts,  and  were  just  out 
side  the  fence  separating  Chinatown  from  its 
American  surroundings,  when  Allie  stopped  ab 
ruptly. 

"  Look  there  !  "  she  exclaimed,  pointing  over  the 
low  wall  into  the  enclosure,  where  the  tiny  log 
cabins  were  scattered  irregularly  about  the  ground, 
and  where  long-tailed,  moon-faced  Chinamen  were 
scuffling  aimlessly  about.  "  Isn't  that  Vic?  " 

"Where?"  asked  Howard,  while  Charlie  added, — 

"  What  an  idea,  Allie  !  Of  course  he  wouldn't 
be  in  there." 

"  Yes  ;  but  't  is  Vic.  I  know  that  long  red  coat 
of  his,"  responded  Allie  hastily.  "  Right  in  there, 
between  those  two  log  houses  —  see  ?  " 

True  enough,  there  in  the  forbidden  ground  of 
Chinatown  stood  Vic,  his  red  coat  and  fez  making 
him  a  striking  little  figure  against  the  dull  back 
ground  of  a  rough  log  house,  as  he  gazed  intently 


2l8         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

up  into  the  yellow  face  of  an  elderly  Chinaman,  who 
was  carrying  two  buckets  of  water  hanging  from  a 
yoke  across  his  shoulders. 

"  'T  is,  after  all ;  but  what  can  he  be  doing 
there?"  said  Charlie,  staring  in  astonishment  at 
the  scene  before  him. 

"  Never  mind  what  he 's  doing,"  said  Allie. 
"  He  ran  away,  I  suppose ;  but  we  must  get  him 
home.  I  '11  wait  here,  while  you  go  and  bring  him 
out.  Mamma  'd  be  dreadfully  frightened  if  she 
knew  where  he  was.  Now  hurry  !  " 

The  boys  dashed  away,  and  soon  came  back  to 
her  side,  with  the  small  wanderer  between  them. 
Vic  was  in  a  state  of  open  rebellion  over  this 
abrupt  ending  to  his  explorations,  and  lifted  up  his 
voice  in  lamentation,  as  Allie  firmly  turned  his 
steps  towards  home. 

"  Everybody  went  off,"  he  explained  in  an 
aggrieved  tone.  "  You  went,  and  Ben  went,  and 
papa  went,  and  ven  I  went,  too.  And  I  will  go 
back  to  see  the  Moolly-cow-man." 

But  his  sister  refused  to  be  persuaded,  and  Vic's 
voice  died  away  to  a  whisper,  as  he  continued  to 
babble  to  himself  of  the  wonders  he  had  seen  in 
his  walk. 

"There's  one  thing,  Allie,  that  I  don't  get  used 


AT  THE  NINE-HUNDRED   LEVEL.  219 

to,  in  this  country,"  remarked  Charlie,  as  they  were 
crossing  the  main  street;  "  and  that's  the  signs. 
See  there  !  "  And  he  pointed  to  a  long,  white 
building,  one  door  of  which  was  surmounted  with 
the  sign,  in  great  gilt  letters :  Embalming  Em 
porium  ;  while  a  board,  swinging  out  from  its  next- 
door  neighbor,  bore  the  legend,  Shoos  i  Soled  Here. 
"But,  I  say/'  he  added,  as  they  came  in  sight  of 
the  house;  "what  do  you  suppose  Ned  and 
Grant  want?  They've  camped  out  on  our  piazza, 
as  if  they  meant  to  stay  there.  Hi  —  i !  "  he 
shouted,  waving  his  cap  above  his  head. 

"Hurry  u  —  up!"  responded  Ned,  returning 
the  salute  with  interest. 

"  Thought  you  'd  never  come,"  added  Grant,  as 
they  drew  nearer. 

"  What  do  you  want?  "   asked  Howard. 

But  before  Ned  had  time  to  reply,  Allie  inter 
posed,  — 

"  Just  wait  one  minute,  do,  till  I  take  Vic  into 
the  house  to  mamma.  Is  she  very  much  worried 
about  him?" 

"Don't  believe  she  is,"  answered  Ned.  "She 
didn  't  say  anything  about  it.  Probably  she 
hasn't  missed  him  at  all.  Now,"  he  resumed,  as 
Allie  came  back  to  the  piazza;  "I've  been  wait- 


22O  IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

ing  here  for  thirty-nine  ages  and  a  quarter ;  and  I 
was  just  ready  to  give  up  and  go  home  again. 
Papa  sent  me  up  to  tell  you  that  he 's  going  to 
take  a  crowd  down  the  Blue  Creek,  this  afternoon, 
and  to  ask  you  if  you  don't  want  to  come  along 
with  us." 

"I  shouldn't  think  he'd  dare  take  Charlie 
again,  for  fear  he  'd  hoodoo  it  all,"  said  Grant 
disrespectfully. 

"  Who  's  going?  "   asked  Howard. 

"  All  of  us;  Cousin  Euphemia  and  all;  and  Dr. 
Brownlee  and  Marjorie  and  you.  We  're  going  to 
have  an  early  dinner,  and  start  at  one,  so  we  can 
go  through  the  smelter,  after  we  come  up.  Cousin 
Euphemia  is  making  her  will  now,  most  likely ;  she 
didn't  want  to  go,  but  papa  talked  her  into  it. 
You  '11  be  on  hand  ;  won't  you  ?  " 

"  We  '11  be  thar,"  responded  Howard,  with  a 
twang  that  might  have  done  credit  to  Janey. 

"  Isn't  it  fun  to  go !  "  said  Allie  delightedly. 
"  I  Ve  always  wanted  to  go  down,  and  never  could. 
You  and  I  will  be  the  green  ones,  Charlie ;  all  the 
rest  have  been  before." 

"  The  doctor  and  Cousin  Euphemia  haven't," 
said  Ned.  "  But  I  '11  take  care  of  you,  Allie,  and 
show  you  all  there  is  to  be  seen.  Come  along, 


AT  THE   NINE-HUNDRED    LEVEL.  221 

Grant;  we  must  be  going."  And  the  brothers 
departed  in  haste. 

Punctually  at  one  o'clock,  Charlie  and  his  cous 
ins  were  at  the  Everetts',  where  they  found  that 
their  party  had  received  one  unexpected  addition. 
The  Reverend  Gabriel  Hornblowerhad  dropped  in 
to  dinner,  and  common  courtesy  had  made  it  neces 
sary  for  Mr.  Everett  to  invite  him  to  join  the 
expedition.  As  they  left  the  house,  Louise,  with 
her  father  and  Dr.  Brownlee,  took  the  lead,  while 
close  in  the  rear  walked  Dr.  Hornblower,  edging 
forward  as  far  as  possible,  in  order  to  join  in  their 
conversation,  with  an  utter  disregard  of  Mrs.  Pen- 
nypoker,  who  had  attached  herself  to  his  side,  and 
manifested  every  intention  of  maintaining  her  posi 
tion.  The  short  walk  through  the  town  was 
quickly  taken ;  and  it  was  still  early  in  the  after 
noon  when  they  stood  beside  the  shaft.  Mr.  Som- 
ers,  Mr.  Everett's  assistant,  was  waiting  for  them 
there ;  and,  a  few  moments  later,  the  new  cage  had 
come  up  the  shaft,  and  halted  to  receive  them. 

"  But  what  makes  them  call  it  a  cage  ?  "  demanded 
Allie,  eyeing  with  disfavor  the  pair  of  heavy  plat 
forms  before  her  "  I  thought  't  would  have  open 
work  brass  sides,  like  the  elevators  in  Denver." 

"  And  hot  and  cold  water,  and  gas,  and  all  the 


222  IN  BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

other  modern  improvements?"  inquired  Ned,  as 
he  helped  himself  to  a  pair  of  candles  in  their  iron 
sockets,  and  passed  one  of  them  on  to  Allie. 
"  Don't  be  a  snob,  Allie ;  you  won't  find  much 
furniture  down  below." 

"  You  take  Mrs.  Pennypoker  and  my  daughter, 
with  the  gentlemen,  on  the  upper  deck,  Somers," 
Mr.  Everett  was  saying;  "  and  I'll  take  these 
children  in  the  lower,  and  look  out  for  them 
there." 

According  to  the  usual  method,  the  upper  plat 
form  was  brought  to  the  level  of  the  ground,  to 
receive  its  freight,  before  the  cage  was  raised  the 
necessary  seven  feet,  to  allow  Mr.  Everett  and  the 
young  people  to  step  on  the  lower  floor.  Then 
they  slowly  sank  away  from  the  light,  down,  down, 
while  Allie  clutched  Ned's  protecting  hand,  and 
tried  in  vain  to  enjoy  her  novel  ride.  At  length 
they  came  to  a  halt  at  a  broad,  square  station,  and 
the  two  decks  of  the  cage  were  quickly  unloaded. 

"  This  is  the  nine-hundred  level,"  Mr.  Everett 
told  them,  as  they  stood  grouped  about  him.  "  We 
have  three  more  below,  — they  're  one  hundred  feet 
apart,  you  know,  —  and  we  're  still  sinking  the 
shaft.  The  cage  in  that  next  compartment  is  given 
up  to  the  men  who  are  doing  the  sinking." 


AT  THE   NINE-HUNDRED    LEVEL.  223 

"  It 's  a  rich  vein,  then,  I  take  it,"  said  Dr.  Brown- 
lee. 

"  A  fine  one,  better  than  we  supposed  when  we 
bought  it.  It  dips  down  sharply  to  the  east,  and 
we  cross  it  at  the  five-hundred,  so  we  don't  have  to 
work  so  far  in  any  one  direction  to  strike  it.  You 
see,  we  run  a  cross-cut  straight  out  from  the  shaft, 
till  we  hit  the  vein ;  then  we  turn  both  ways  and 
run  along  through  it ;  so,  at  every  level,  our  work 
ings  are  like  a  great  T,  with  the  stem  growing  larger 
with  every  hundred  feet  we  go  down." 

"  And  this  is  how  deep?  "  asked  Louise. 

"Nine  hundred,"  repeated  her  father,  while  he 
hastily  snatched  Marjorie  out  of  the  path  of  an 
ore  car,  which  came  thundering  down  the  cross 
cut  and  turned  abruptly  into  the  station. 

"It's  a  solemn  thing  to  feel  that  you  are  nine 
hundred  feet  from  the  light,"  observed  Mrs.  Penny- 
poker,  as  she  gathered  her  skirts  more  closely 
about  her. 

"  Yes,"  responded  the  Reverend  Gabriel,  wav 
ing  his  right  hand,  lamp  and  all ;  it  reminds  one 
of  the  mighty  power  of  the  earthquake,  when  it 
stoops  to  trample  on  a  worm." 

Then  they  were  silent,  as  they  followed  Mr. 
Everett  through  the  long  gallery,  pausing  now 


224         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

and  then  near  one  of  the  electric  lights  that  dotted 
the  corridor,  to  listen  to  his  off-hand  explana 
tions  of  the  work  below  ground.  Dr.  Brownlee 
appeared  to  be  especially  interested  in  the  sub 
ject. 

"  How  do  you  get  the  ore  on  the  cage  ? "  he 
asked.  "  Do  you  run  it  on,  car  and  all,  or  do  you 
unload  it?  " 

"  How  little  these  Eastern  folks  do  know !  "  re 
marked  the  Reverend  Gabriel,  in  an  audible  aside 
to  Louise. 

"  Perhaps  we  should  all  be  better  off,  if  we 
knew  more  about  it,"  she  replied,  with  a  touch  of 
coldness  in  her  tone,  as  she  turned  her  back  upon 
the  Reverend  Gabriel,  and  took  her  place  at  her 
father's  side,  where  she  met  the  amused  glance  of 
Dr.  Brownlee,  who  had  overhead  both  remarks. 

"  They  signal  the  cage,  and  run  the  car  on  it," 
answered  Mr.  Everett.  "  We  don't  let  but  one 
man  ring  for  the  engineer.  He  has  to  stay  near 
one  of  the  stations,  where  he  can  hear ;  and  when 
the  miners  want  him,  they  go  to  the  station  and 
pound  their  signal  on  one  of  the  water-pipes,  for 
him  to  repeat.  We  had  a  green  hand,  though, 
that  tried  to  improve  on  our  plan,  a  few  years  ago. 
He  attempted  to  catch  the  cage  on  the  fly,  as  it 


AT  THE   NINE-HUNDRED    LEVEL.  225 

went  up  past  him ;  and  he  actually  aimed  the  car 
at  it,  and  ran  it  down." 

"  Did  he  hit  it?  "  asked  Charlie. 

"  Hardly,"  returned  Mr.  Everett,  laughing. 
"The  cage  was  too  quick  for  him,  and  went  on 
up ;  and  both  the  car  and  the  man  fell  clear  to  the 
bottom  of  the  shaft." 

"  Oh-h  !  "  And  Marjorie's  eyes  grew  round 
with  horror.  "I  should  think  'twould  have  hurt 
him  awfully." 

"Well,  yes,  Marjorie;  I  should  have  thought  it 
would,"  said  Howard,  mimicking  her  tone,  while 
the  others  joined  in  the  laugh  at  her  expense. 

Then  they  went  on  to  the  end  of  the  cross-cut,  and, 
turning  at  a  sharp  angle,  they  came  into  the  drift,  the 
long  gallery  running  through  the  vein.  For  some 
distance,  the  drift,  like  the  cross-cut,  was  lined  with 
timbers,  then  the  lining  ceased,  as  they  neared  the 
end  of  the  drift,  where  the  miners  were  hard  at 
work,  drilling  for  fresh  blasts,  or  tearing  out  the 
ore  loosened  by  the  last  explosion,  and  loading  it 
into  the  little  car  which  stood  ready  to  be  run 
down  the  track  to  the  station.  Seven  feet  above, 
so  that  the  roof  of  the  lower  level  formed  the 
flooring  of  the  next,  was  another  short  gallery, 
where  the  men  were  busy  stoping,  digging  out 


226         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

the  ore  from  the  upper  tier.  Dingy  'and  grimy  as 
they  were,  it  was  fascinating  to  watch  them,  bur 
rowing,  like  so  many  moles,  in  the  depths  of  the 
earth.  The  visitors  lingered  to  look  at  them  until 
they  were  frightened  away  by  the  preparations  for 
a  blast ;  then  they  slowly  made  their  way  back  to 
the  station,  pausing  a  moment  to  watch  a  loaded 
car,  as  it  rolled  from  the  rails  to  the  polished  steel 
flooring,  and  swung  around  the  corner  into  posi 
tion,  to  wait  for  the  cage.  Mr.  Everett  looked  at 
his  watch. 

"  I  'm  sorry  to  hurry  you,"  he  said ;  "  but  I 
think  we  ought  to  be  going;  don't  you,  Somers? 
It's  change  day;  and  at  three  the  cages  will  be 
full." 

"  Change  day  !  "  remarked  Charlie  to  his  cousin, 
in  an  undertone  ;  "  what  's  that?  " 

"  Hush  !  "  she  whispered.  "  Don't  show  Dr. 
Hornblower  how  little  you  know.  Remember 
that  you  're  from  the  East,  too." 

But  Dr.  Brownlee  was  animated  by  no  such 
motives  of  prudence,  and  quietly  asked  for  an 
explanation  of  the  term. 

"  We  have  two  sets  of  men,"  Mr.  Everett 
answered.  "  The  day  shift  goes  on  at  seven,  and 
works  till  half  past  five  ;  and  the  night  one  comes 


AT  THE  NINE-HUNDRED    LEVEL.  22  7 

on  at  seven  in  the  evening,  and  stays  till  half  past 
five  in  the  morning.  Of  course  that 's  harder  on 
one  set  of  men  than  the  other,  so,  once  in  two 
weeks,  we  have  what  we  call  change  day.  The 
day  shift  goes  on  at  seven,  and  works  till  three ; 
then  the  night  fellows  come  right  on  and  stay  till 
eleven;  and  the  old  day  shift  comes  back  at 
eleven.  By  the  next  morning,  you  see,  their 
places  are  just  changed,  and  the  night  men  are 
working  in  the  daytime.  Now,"  he  added,  as  he 
stepped  to  the  shaft,  to  ring  his  own  private  sig 
nal;  "  we  '11  go  up  and  take  a  look  through  the 
smelter  before  —  Why,  where  are  Mrs.  Penny- 
poker  and  Dr.  Hornblower?  " 

There  was  a  startled  pause.  No  one  had  seen 
the  missing  members  of  the  party  since  they  had 
left  the  head  of  the  drift,  although  they  had  sup 
posed  them  to  be  following  close  behind  their 
companions.  Turning,  they  looked  back  up  the 
cross-cut,  but  there  was  no  Mrs.  Pennypoker  in 
sight.  It  seemed  impossible  that  they  could  have 
lost  their  way,  in  a  long,  straight  corridor,  less  than 
ten  feet  wide ;  some  accident  must  have  befallen 
them.  Worst  of  all,  there  was  no  time  for  delay ; 
the  cage  had  just  come  for  them,  and  in  the  dis 
tance  could  be  heard  the  steps  of  the  approach- 


228         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

ing  miners,  as  they  came  in  for  the  change  of 
shift. 

"We  mustn't  keep  the  cage  waiting  for  us,  now," 
said  Mr.  Everett  hastily.  "  You  go  up  with  the 
others,  Somers,  and  I  '11  go  back  and  look  them 
up.  They  can't  be  far  off." 

Turning,  he  walked  rapidly  back  up  the  cross 
cut,  expecting  at  every  moment  to  meet  the  tru 
ants,  so  sure  was  he  that  they  had  only  loitered 
along  behind  the  others,  absorbed  in  discussing 
the  spiritual  welfare  of  Wang  Kum  and  his  Mon 
golian  brethren.  It  was  not  until  he  had  turned 
into  the  drift,  and  paused  to  question  a  group  of 
miners  whom  he  met  there,  that  he  began  to  be 
seriously  alarmed.  The  men  had  not  seen  Mrs. 
Pennypoker  and  her  escort  since  they  had  all 
been  together  at  the  head  of  the  drift.  Mr.  Ever 
ett  felt  no  hesitation  in  accepting  their  statement, 
for,  in  their  ignorance  of  the  relationship  between 
the  superintendent  and  his  cousin,  the  miners 
spoke  of  Mrs.  Pennypoker's  appearance  in  such 
unguarded  terms  as  left  him  no  room  to  doubt 
their  knowledge  of  the  person  for  whom  he  was 
seeking.  However,  he  still  kept  on  to  the  head  of 
the  drift,  thinking  it  possible  that  they  might  be  in 
some  dark  corner,  though  he  could  think  of  no 


AT  THE  NINE-HUNDRED    LEVEL.  2 29 

reason  which  should  tempt  them  to  conceal  them 
selves  in  any  such  fashion.  But  his  quest  was 
unavailing,  and,  facing  about,  he  returned  to  the 
head  of  the  cross-cut  where  he  paused,  uncertain 
what  course  to  pursue.  Then  he  opened  his 
mouth  and  shouted  their  names,  with  the  full 
power  of  his  strong  bass  voice.  The  sound 
echoed  up  and  down  through  the  galleries  and 
then  died  away,  to  be  followed  by  a  high-pitched 
feminine  shriek. 

The  cry  came  from  the  opposite  end  of  the  drift 
from  the  one  which  they  had  been  exploring,  and 
Mr.  Everett  turned  his  steps  in  that  direction. 
This  end  had  been  abandoned,  some  days  before, 
in  consequence  of  a  serious  leak  in  the  pipes  con 
necting  with  the  pump ;  and  it  was  now  only 
lighted  for  a  short  distance  beyond  the  mouth  of 
the  cross-cut.  Now  that  the  pump  had  ceased,  the 
water  had  settled  over  the  floor,  to  form  a  deep, 
thick  clay  which  rendered  progress  slow  and  diffi 
cult.  He  had  just  passed  the  last  electric  light 
and  was  proceeding  even  more  cautiously  than 
before,  when  he  came  to  an  abrupt  halt.  The 
feeble  glimmer  of  his  miner's  lamp  had  fallen  upon 
a  strange  picture,  and  one  whose  meaning  he  was 
not  slow  to  grasp. 


230  IN  BLUE   CREEK    CANON. 

At  one  side  of  the  drift  and  leaning  against  the 
wall,  stood  Mrs.  Pennypoker,  with  one  foot  drawn 
up  under  her,  much  in  the  attitude  of  a  meditative 
hen.  A  few  feet  away  from  her,  the  doctor  was 
bending  forward,  with  his  lamp  extended  in  one 
hand,  while  with  his  other  he  held  his  cane,  which 
he  was  poking  about  in  the  soft,  sticky  mud. 

"Well,"  said  Mr.  Everett  at  length,  after  he  had 
watched  them  in  silence,  during  some  moments ; 
"  what  are  you  doing  here?  " 

The  Reverend  Gabriel  and  Mrs.  Pennypoker 
both  started  guiltily.  So  interested  had  they  been 
in  their  search,  that  they  had  been  unconscious  of 
Mr.  Everett's  approach  until  he  stood  before  them. 
In  her  surprise,  Mrs.  Pennypoker  came  near  losing 
her  balance,  and,  to  support  herself,  she  put  down 
her  other  foot.  It  was  a  shapely  foot,  and  was 
covered  with  an  immaculate  white  stocking,  for 
Mrs.  Pennypoker  still  adhered  to  some  of  the 
fashions  of  her  far-off  youth.  Then  the  Reverend 
Gabriel  answered. 

"  We  inadvertently  strayed  from  our  way  and 
came  into  this  place,  without  realizing  whither  our 
steps  were  leading  us,"  he  said,  while  he  contin 
ued  to  prod  the  mud  before  him ;  "  and  at  length 
we  fell,  as  you  might  observe,  into  the  miry  clay. 


"  His  lamp  extended  in  one  hand,  while  with  his  other  he  held  his 

cane,  which  he  was  poking  about  in  the  soft,  sticky  mud." 

—  Page  230. 


AT  THE   NINE-HUNDRED    LEVEL.  231 

I  had  just  suggested  the  expediency  of  our  return, 
when  Mrs.  Pcnnypokcr  —  um  —  in  short,  met  with 
an  accident  which  unduly  detained  us  and — ah, 
I  have  it !  "  he  exclaimed  triumphantly,  as  he 
carefully  worked  his  stick  put  through  the  earth, 
and  extended  it  in  mid-air,  with  a  shapeless,  drip 
ping  mass  hanging  on  its  tip. 

No  further  explanation  was  needed.  Mrs.  Pen- 
nypoker,  as  has  been  said,  still  clung  to  some  of 
the  fashions  of  bygone  days ;  and,  among  other 
similar  foibles,  she  cherished  a  fondness  for  con 
gress  gaiters,  and  invariably  wore  those  feeble 
apologies  for  shoes  whose  limp  cloth  uppers  are 
held  in  place  by  means  of  elastic  wedges  at  the 
sides.  In  arraying  herself  for  her  visit  to  the 
mine,  with  characteristic  New  England  thrift,  she 
had  put  on  an  ancient  pair  of  these  gaiters,  whose 
elastic  sides  had  long  since  lost  all  their  spring, 
and  lay  in  ample  folds  about  her  ankles. 

As  Mr.  Everett  had  surmised,  his  cousin,  feeling 
no  deep  interest  in  the  mine,  had  fallen  into  a 
theological  discussion  with  her  pastor.  This  had 
so  engrossed  them  both  that  they  had  lost  their 
way,  and  had  only  come  to  their  senses  when  they 
found  themselves  in  the  dark,  muddy  passage  of 
the  deserted  drift,  They  had  hastily  turned  to 


232  IN  BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

retrace  their  steps,  when  Mrs.  Pennypoker's  foot 
slipped  and  plunged  deep  down  into  the  clay ;  and, 
on  her  withdrawing  it,  she  was  horrified  to  feel  that 
her  foot  was  slowly  but  surely  pulling  out  of  her 
gaiter,  instead  of  pulling  her  gaiter  out  with  it. 
In  vain  she  had  attempted  to  work  her  foot  down 
into  her  shoe  once  more ;  in  vain  she  had  endeav 
ored  to  hook  her  bent  toes  into  it,  with  a  hold 
sufficient  to  draw  it  out.  The  mischief  was  done, 
and  she  could  only  lift  up  her  foot,  while  the  soft 
mud  quickly  settled  in  above  the  gaiter,  and  left 
no  trace  of  the  spot  where  it  lay  embedded. 

It  was  evidently  impossible  for  her  to  wade  back 
to  the  cross-cut  without  it,  and  her  size,  age  and 
dignity  all  combined  to  make  it  equally  impossible 
for  her  to  hop  on  one  foot  as  far  as  the  cross-cut ; 
so  she  had  been  forced  to  come  to  a  halt,  while 
her  companion  prospected  about  in  the  earth,  to 
find  the  vein  in  which  his  treasure  was  buried. 
At  last  it  was  found  ;  but  not  even  Mrs.  Euphemia 
Pennypoker  could  present  a  dignified  appearance 
as  she  received  her  muddy  shoe  from  the  end  of 
the  Reverend  Gabriel's  cane,  drew  it  on  to  her 
foot,  and  walked  away  towards  the  station,  with 
mingled  clay  and  water  oozing  out  from  her  gaiter, 
at  her  every  step. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

THE   BEGINNING   OF  THE   OLD    STORY. 

ONCE  more  winter  had  come,  and  the  snow  lay 
deep  and  white  over  the  little  camp.  The  pines 
on  the  mountain  sides  looked  a  hazy  blue  against 
the  glistening  slopes,  and  the  bald  white  summits 
of  the  mountains  themselves  stood  out  in  bold 
relief  against  the  clear  blue  heavens.  Even  the 
night  sky  was  changed  at  that  altitude,  for  the 
stars  glittered  down  through  the  cold,  still  air,  with 
an  intensity  which  made  them  look  like  gleaming 
bits  of  metal  scattered  over  the  dense,  dark-blue 
clouds ;  while  often  and  often  the  north  was 
lighted  with  the  glare  of  the  pale  aurora  which 
streamed  far  across  the  sky,  in  long,  waving  ban 
ners  of  rose  color  or  light  green. 

"  But  I  like  the  way  you  people  out  here 
make  fun  of  New  England  weather,"  remonstrated 
Charlie  one  day,  as  he  stood  in  the  front  window, 
watching  a  sudden  flurry  of  snow  sweep  down 
through  the  canon.  "  When  I  went  down  town  to 
get  the  mail,  this  morning,  it  was  raining  so  hard 
233 


234  IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

that  I  wore  my  mackintosh ;  but,  by  the  time  I 
was  at  the  post-office,  the  sun  was  shining.  I 
walked  straight  back  home  again,  and  it  was  hail 
ing  when  I  came  up  the  steps.  What  sort  of  a 
climate  do  you  call  it,  anyway?  " 

"  A  perfect  one,"  returned  Allic  loyally. 

"  Not  much  !  Montana  buys  up  the  job  lots  of 
weather  left  over  from  the  other  States,  and  cuts 
them  up  small  before  she  serves  them  out  again, 
just  as  they  happen  to  come.  Montana  weather 
and  Montana  slang  are  the  two  richest  crops  in  the 
State." 

The  past  two  months  had  been  unbroken  by 
any  event  of  marked  importance.  Between  their 
lessons  and  their  frolics,  the  time  of  the  young 
people  had  been  well  filled,  and  the  days  had 
hurried  by,  without  any  one's  stopping  to  ask  where 
they  had  gone.  'At  the  Burnams',  life  was  going 
on  smoothly  and  pleasantly,  although  Mr.  Burnam 
was  now  busy  in  the  field,  hurrying  to  accomplish 
all  that  he  could,  before  the  storms  of  February 
should  drive  his  party  out  of  the  mountains,  until 
the  spring  thaws  made  field  work  possible  once 
more. 

By  way  of  helping  to  pass  the  long  winter  even 
ings,  Charlie  had  tried  to  bribe  Allie  to  become 


THE  BEGINNING   OF  THE   OLD   STORY.      235 

his  pupil  and,  after  his  hour  of  practice  was 
ended,  he  usually  took  her  in  hand  for  a  time,  in  a 
vain  endeavor  to  teach  her  to  play.  But,  in  spite 
of  her  desire  to  please  her  cousin,  Allie  had  neither 
the  patience  nor  steadiness  needful  to  keep  her  at 
the  piano ;  and  she  much  preferred  to  settle  her 
self  comfortably  in  front  of  the  fire,  and  listen  to 
her  cousin's  performances,  rather  than  go  through 
the  drudgery  of  scales  and  exercises,  upon  which 
Charlie  insisted,  as  the  orthodox  preparation  for 
later  wrork.  Accordingly,  Allie's  music  usually 
ended  in  a  playful  skirmish  which  sent  Charlie 
back  to  the  piano,  to  beguile  her  into  good  temper 
again,  by  means  of  some  favorite  melody.  On 
rare  occasions,  when  she  was  uncommonly  meek, 
or  when  all  other  employment  failed,  she  would  be 
coaxed  into  running  up  and  down  over  a  few 
scales ;  but,  in  the  end,  her  fingers  invariably 
became  snarled  up  with  her  thumbs ;  and,  after 
one  or  two  discordant  crashes  on  the  keys,  she 
gave  it  up  and  threatened  to  buy  a  hand-organ  for 
her  contribution  to  the  family  music. 

Her  singing  appeared  to  succeed  no  better. 
While  she  had  a  sweet,  flexible  voice,  and  went 
about  the  house  singing  softly  to  herself,  as  soon 
as  she  approached  the  piano  a  spirit  of  perversity 


236         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

seemed  to  enter  into  her,  and  she  wandered  along 
at  her  own  sweet  will,  perfectly  regardless  of  the 
time  and  key  of  the  accompaniment  with  which 
Charlie  was  struggling  to  follow  her.  At  length  her 
cousin  was  forced  to  abandon  his  efforts  and  allow 
her  to  drop  back  into  her  old  place  as  listener, 
a  part  which  she  always  played  with  perfect  suc 
cess  and  contentment,  while  he  turned  his  atten 
tion  to  the  others.  Grant  was  taking  banjo  lessons 
now,  and  Ned  occasionally  strummed  a  little  on 
the  venerable  guitar  which  Louise  had  thrown 
aside  in  favor  of  her  mandolin ;  so  their  little 
orchestra  was  frequently  in  demand  to  fill  in  gaps 
in  an  evening's  entertainment.  Howard  and  Mar- 
jorie,  too,  were  ready  to  add  their  share  of  music, 
for  they  had  toiled  away  in  secret  till  they  had 
mastered  one  or  two  simple  duets,  which  they  in- 
variaby  sang  whenever  an  opportunity  offered. 

In  the  mean  time,  a  warm  friendship  had  devel 
oped  between  Mr.  Everett  and  Dr.  Brownlee.  The 
young  doctor  was  now  a  frequent  guest  at  the 
superintendent's  house,  where  he  had  quickly 
become  popular  with  them  all,  even  to  Mrs.  Pen- 
nypoker,  who  never  failed  to  array  herself  in  her 
best  gown  and  unbend  her  majesty  whenever  he 
was  expected  to  appear.  The  acquaintance  started 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE   OLD   STORY.      237 

during  their  camping  expedition  had  rapidly  ri 
pened  into  a  mutual  liking,  and  it  was  surprising 
to  see  how  often  the  younger  man  found  time  to 
drop  in  at  Mr.  Everett's  office,  late  in  the  after 
noon,  for  a  few  minutes'  conversation.  Once  there, 
it  was  only  natural  that  he  should  walk  home  with 
his  friend,  and,  after  a  little  polite  hesitation,  accept 
his  invitation  to  come  in  for  a  call.  Little  by  little 
the  calls  grew  in  length  until,  from  accepting  occa 
sional  invitations 'to  dine,  the  doctor  came  to  stay, 
quite  as  a  matter  of  course,  although  he  still  made 
a  feeble  pretence  of  rising  to  go  away,  before 
yielding  to  their  suggestion  of  dinner  and  a  game 
of  whist  later  on  in  the  evening.  At  length,  even 
this  form  was  abandoned,  and  it  grew  to  be  an 
established  fact  that,  whenever  the  doctor  dropped 
in  for  an  afternoon  call,  an  extra  plate  and  chair 
should  be  included  in  the  dinner  preparations,  and 
that  the  card  table  should  be  brought  out  as  soon 
as  the  meal  was  over.  It  also  soon  came  to  be  a 
matter  of  course  that  Louise  and  the  doctor  should 
always  play  together,  while  Mr.  Everett  and  Mrs. 
Pennypoker  ranged  themselves  against  them,  and 
devoted  their  attention  to  the  game  with  unswerv 
ing  vigilance.  Not  even  Mrs.  Pennypoker  had 
been  able  to  withstand  the  doctor's  genial,  hearty 


238         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

manner;  and,  in  his  presence,  she  laid  aside  er 
eye-glasses  and  her  dignity,  and  laughed  at  all  his 
jokes  in  an  appreciative  fashion,  which  Ned  and 
Grant  were  quite  at  a  loss  to  understand,  since  she 
never  paid  the  slightest  heed  to  their  attempts  at 
facetiousness. 

In  spite  of  the  strict  etiquette  of  the  game 
which  demands  such  perfect  silence  and  watch 
fulness,  it  is  strange  how  rapidly  a  newly-formed 
acquaintance  can  grow  into  strong  friendship 
around  a  whist  table.  Everything  conspires  to  help 
it  on :  the  absorption  of  the  opponents  in  their 
own  hands ;  the  chivalrous  offer,  on  one  side, 
to  do  all  the  dealing,  and  the  grateful  accept 
ing  of  the  courtesy  on  the  other;  and,  most  of 
all,  the  moment  of  hesitation  over  a  doubtful 
play,  followed  by  the  silent  meeting  of  the  eyes, 
as  the  trick  falls  to  one  or  the  other.  And  yet, 
neither  Louise  nor  Dr.  Brownlee  realized  in  the 
least  whither  they  were  so  rapidly  drifting.  The 
doctor  still  regarded  Mr.  Everett  as  his  chief 
friend  in  the  family,  and  thankfully  accepted  his 
hospitality,  which  broke  in  so  pleasantly  upon  his 
solitary  life  at  the  boarding-house,  where  the  long 
table  was  presided  over  by  his  landlady,  with  her 
cap  awry  and  her  sleeves  rolled  to  her  elbows, 


THE   BEGINNING   OF   THE   OLD    STORY.      239 

while  she  gossiped  volubly  with  her  boarders, 
in  the  intervals  of  her  skirmishes  with  the  frowsy 
waiting  maid.  And  Louise?  She  only  knew  that 
she  enjoyed  the  society  of  the  young  doctor,  just 
as  her  father  and  Mrs.  Pennypoker  appeared  to 
enjo^it;  but,  all  unconsciously  to  herself,  her 
young  life  was  rounding  out  with  a  new,  sweet 
meaning ;  and  the  womanhood  opening  before  her 
was  daily  gaining  fresh  inspiration  and  purpose, 
from  the  influence  of  the  true,  earnest  manhood 
of  their  frequent  guest. 

But  the  time  had  slipped  away  and  Christmas 
was  at  hand.  The  week  before  the  festival  found 
the  young  people  much  absorbed  in  a  little  enter 
tainment,  to  be  given  for  the  benefit  of  some  local 
charity,  in  which  they  were  all  to  take  a  part. 
Mr.  Nelson  had  started  the  project,  and  had  called 
upon  Dr.  Brownlee  and  Louise  to  help  him  form 
and  carry  out  his  plans.  After  much  discussion,  it 
had  been  arranged  to  have  an  hour  of  music  and 
readings,  followed  by  a  play  in  which  the  doctor 
and  Louise,  Charlie,  Marjorie,  and  Allie  should  be 
the  actors.  The  play  was  quickly  chosen,  a  lit 
tle  French  one  which  Louise  had  translated,  and 
adapted  to  their  meagre  resources  of  costume  and 
scenery;  and  the  rehearsals  had  been  going  on 


240         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

for  some  weeks,  until  the  success  of  the  enterprise 
was  sufficiently  assured  to  allow  them  to  an 
nounce  their  plans  and  decide  upon  the  date. 
The  dress  rehearsal  had  been  held  before  a  select 
audience  of  fathers  and  mothers,  who  were  hearty 
in  their  praises  of  the  saucy  maid  and  the  irre 
pressible  young  brother,  while  they  thoroughly 
enjoyed  the  spirited  acting  of  Louise,  who,  in  the 
person  of  the  widowed  mother,  did  all  that  lay  in 
her  power  to  thwart  the  flirtations  between  the  doc 
tor  and  Allie,  until  her  efforts  were  set  at  naught 
by  the  disloyalty  of  her  maid  and  the  traditions  of 
amateur  acting,  which  demand  a  happy  ending  to 
every  love  affair. 

The  little  hall  was  well  filled,  the  next  evening. 
Audiences  in  Blue  Creek  were  often  rather  mixed ; 
and,  on  this  particular  occasion,  rich  and  poor, 
young  and  old,  had  gathered,  to  show  their  interest 
in  a  worthy  cause,  and  their  liking  for  the  young 
actors,  whose  unvarying  kindness  and  courtesy 
had  made  them  favorites  throughout  the  town. 
Even  Janey's  black  face  looked  on  from  the 
background,  while  far  at  one  side  sat  Wang 
Kum  with  two  of  his  friends,  whom  he  had  per 
suaded  to  buy  tickets,  as  a  proof  of  their  loyalty 
to  Louise. 


THE   BEGINNING   OF  THE  OLD    STORY.      24! 

Behind  the  scenes  there  reigned  the  usual  con 
fusion,  preparatory  to  the  rising  of  the  curtain. 
Moreover,  in  some  quarters,  there  existed  grave 
doubts  of  the  curtain's  being  prevailed  upon  to 
rise  at  all,  since,  the  night  before,  it  had  persist 
ently  stuck  fast,  at  two  feet  from  the  floor.  At 
length  all  was  in  readiness  for  the  first  part  of  the 
program,  and  Charlie  had  just  stepped  forward  to 
make  his  bow,  before  seating  himself  at  the  piano, 
when  the  doctor  hurriedly  approached  Louise. 

"  Can  you  spare  me,  for  three  quarters  of  an 
hour?"  he  asked.  "I've  just  heard,  by  the 
merest  chance,  that  the  evening  train  is  off  the 
track,  down  in  the  cut  below  the  station.  The  en 
gine  jumped  the  track,  and  pulled  the  baggage  car 
after  it ;  they  both  rolled  over,  and  they  say  one 
man  is  hurt.  Nobo<dy  has  sent  for  me ;  but  I  'd 
like  to  just  run  down,  and  see  if  I  can  be  of  any 
use." 

For  a  moment,  Louise  looked  aghast  at  the  idea 
of  losing  her  chief  actor  and  assistant.  Then  she 
said  cordially,  — 

"  Go,  of  course.  We  '11  arrange  to  do  without 
you,  in  some  way." 

The  doctor's  eyes  thanked  her ;  but  he  wasted 
no  time  in  mere  words,  as  he  went  on  hastily, — 


242         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

"  I  wouldn't  say  anything  to  the  audience,  for 
'twould  just  break  up  the  whole  affair.  If  you  '11 
put  off  my  reading  till  just  before  your  last  duet 
with  Charlie,  I  '11  be  here,  unless  there 's  serious 
trouble.  If  there  is  any  reason  that  I  can't  come, 
I  '11  send  word  at  once."  And  he  was  gone. 

The  program  of  the  first  part  of  the  evening 
was  drawing  smoothly  to  its  close.  Charlie  had 
delighted  his  audience  with  his  playing,  both 
alone  and  with  the  Everett  boys ;  Howard  and 
Marjorie  had  sung  a  new  duet,  which  they  had 
learned,  in  honor  of  the  occasion ;  and  Allie  had 
convulsed  her  more  critical  hearers  with  a  recita 
tion,  which  she  had  rendered  with  an  originality 
of  tone  and  gesture  that  would  have  struck  terror 
to  the  followers  of  Delsarte,  even  though  it  had 
won  her  the  first  encore  of  the  evening.  Then, 
after  a  moment's  enjoyment  of  the  continued 
applause  which  had  followed  her  disappearance 
from  the  stage,  she  came  back  once  more,  and 
gave  them  "Aunt  Tabitha."  She  threw  herself 
into  it  with  an  abandonment  of  fun  which,  in  itself, 
would  have  been  enough  to  show  her  sympathy 
with  the  trend  of  the  poem,  while  she  could  not 
forbear  glaring  defiantly  down  upon  Mrs.  Penny- 
poker's  uplifted  countenance,  as  she  delivered 


THE   BEGINNING   OF  THE   OLD    STORY.      243 

herself  of  the  closing  lines,  with  a  fervor  that 
astonished  her  audience,  — 

"'But  when  to  the  altar  a  victim  I  go, 

Aunt  Tabitha  '11  tell  me  she  never  did  so.' " 

And  she  swept  off  from  the  little  stage,  in  a 
parting  storm  of  cheers. 

In  the  mean  time,  Louise  had  heard  nothing 
from  Dr.  Brownlee ;  and  she  was  beginning  to 
grow  uneasy,  for  the  time  for  his  reading  was  at 
hand,  and  the  play  was  to  follow  it  almost  imme 
diately.  She  was  just  resolving  to  give  up  all 
hope,  and  bring  the  entertainment  to  a  hasty 
close,  when  she  saw  the  doctor  come  hurry 
ing  in  at  the  side  door.  She  turned  to  Charlie 
MacGregor,  who  chanced  to  be  standing  near 
her. 

"Will  you  help  me  out,  Charlie?  "*  she  asked. 
"  Go  on  again,  and  play  —  anything,  I  don't  care 
what,  just  to  give  Dr.  Brownlee  time  to  get  his 
breath." 

"But  strikes  me  they've  had  about  all  of  me 
they  can  stand,"  demurred  Charlie. 

"  Never  mind  if  they  have,"  said  Louise.  "  There 
isn't  anybody  else  that  can  appear,  at  a  minute's 
warning.  Go,  please." 

The  next  moment  the  doctor  was  by  her  side. 


244         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

"Miss  Everett,  have  you  any  powder?"  he 
asked,  laughing  a  little,  as  he  pointed  to  a  great 
purplish  bruise  on  the  side  of  his  forehead. 

"  Dr.  Brownlee !  "  she  exclaimed  in  alarm. 
"What  is  it?  Are  you  hurt?" 

"  Hush  !  "  he  said,  in  a  low  voice,  though  he 
was  conscious  of  a  quick  sense  of  pleasure  at  the 
anxiety  of  her  tone.  "  It 's  only  a  bump  ;  but  it 
doesn't  look  well,  and  I  don't  want  it  to  show. 
Can't  you  cover  it  up  somehow,  before  I  go  on?" 

"  Come  this  way,"  she  said  hastily.  "  I  'm  not 
much  used  to  powder,  but  I  '11  see  what  I  can  do. 
Tell  me,"  she  begged,  as  the  doctor  dropped 
into  a  chair;  "what  has  happened?  It's  a  bad 
bruise,  and  your  cheek  is  cut;  what  was  it?" 

"  I  was  helping  them  get  the  man  out  of  the 
car,  and  one  of  the  beams  fell  against  me ; 
that 's  all.  I  found  the  new  doctor,  Dr.  Hofer,  in 
charge ;  so  I  just  helped  him  lift  the  man  out,  and 
then  came  back  here,"  he  answered  as  lightly  as 
he  could,  and  without  adding  a  word  about  the 
moments  that  he  himself  had  lain  there  stunned 
from  the  force  of  the  blow  on  his  head. 

Louise  looked  down  at  him  anxiously.  His 
face  was  white,  and  his  hands  were  a  little 
unsteady. 


THE   BEGINNING   OF  THE   OLD    STORY.      245 

"  Please  don't  try  to  read,  Dr.  Brownlee,"  she 
urged.  "  I  'm  sure  you  don't  feel  able." 

"  I  'm  all  right,"  he  said,  rousing  himself  with  a 
forced  laugh;  "if  you  can  cover  up  the  spot  so  it 
won't  show.  I  don't  want  them  to  think  I  've  been 
fighting." 

He  resigned  himself  into  her  hands,  while  she 
hunted  among  the  properties  for  the  powder-puff 
and  the  comb,  and  then  did  her  best  to  conceal  the 
great  bruise  on  his  temple,  which  had  quickly 
swollen  and  turned  dark.  But,  even  as  she  did  so, 
she  felt  a  sudden  impulse  to  drop  the  puff  and  run 
away,  rather  than  meet  the  earnest  gaze  of  the  gray 
eyes  looking  so  steadily  up  into  her  own,  and  listen 
to  the  quiet  "  Thank  you,"  which  greeted  the  end 
of  the  toilet,  as  the  doctor  rose  and  stepped  for 
ward  to  take  his  place  on  the  stage. 

At  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Nelson,  he  had  decided 
to  read  "  Elizabeth  "  ;  and  Louise,  as  she  stood  at 
the  side  of  the  stage,  listening  to  the  quaint  old  tale 
of  the  Quaker  wooing,  found  herself  forgetting  all 
her  surroundings  in  the  interest  of  the  familiar 
story.  Dr.  Brownlee  had  turned  a  little  to  one 
side,  in  order  to  conceal  his  discolored  temple 
from  the  audience,  and  this  brought  him  into  a 
position  directly  facing  the  young  woman  who, 


246  IN  BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

quite  unconsciously,  made  a  charming  picture  in 
the  gown  she  had  donned  for  the  play.  Just  in  the 
act  of  turning  a  leaf  of  the  book  in  his  hand,  the 
doctor  raised  his  eyes,  and  they  rested  upon'her 
fair  young  face.  As  he  did  so,  there  rushed  into 
his  mind  the  memory  of  her  womanly  pity  and 
gentleness  in  caring  for  his  bruise,  and  he  seemed 
to  feel  again  the  touch  of  her  light  hands  upon  his 
hair.  He  paused ;  then,  with  his  gaze  still  fixed 
upon  her,  he  went  on  in  his  quiet  voice,  low,  but 
so  distinct  that  not  a  syllable  was  lost  on  its 
hearers,  — 

"  '  I  have  something  to  tell  thee, 

Not  to  l>e  spoken  lightly,  nor  in  the  presence  of  others. 
Them  it  concerneth  not,  only  thee  and  me  it  concerneth.'  " 

Just  then  Louise  raised  her  eyes  to  his ;  but,  as 
she  met  the  intentness  of  his  look,  her  own  eyes 
drooped,  while  the  color  rushed  to  her  cheeks  and 
then  fled  again.  For  a  moment  more  the  doctor's 
eyes  rested  upon  her,  then  he  went  on  with  his 
reading ;  but  his  voice  was  unsteady  and  his  heart 
was  throbbing  with  the  sudden  new  hope  that  had 
come  to  him. 

The  reading  was  ended,  and  the  curtain  fell 
amid  the  enthusiastic  applause  of  the  audience, 
who  devoted  the  intermission  to  discussing  the 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  OLD   STORY.      247 

performers,  with  a  perfect  unconsciousness  of  the 
fact  that  two  of  them  had  entered  upon  a  new 
life  during  the  past  hour.  Though  their  secret 
was  as  yet  unspoken,  that  one  look  had  taught 
both  Louise  and  Dr.  Brownlee  that  the  stories 
of  their  future  lives  were  written  in  the  same 
volume.  Already  they  had  glanced  at  the  pref 
ace,  and  soon  the  first  chapter  would  lie  open  ia 
their  hands. 

But  now  there  was  no  time  for  any  such 
thoughts,  for  chaos  once  more  reigned  behind  the 
scenes,  as  the  actors  hastily  dressed  for  the  play; 
and,  within  a  few  moments,  the  curtain  rose  again 
upon  the  transformed  scene.  Howard  and  the 
Everett  boys,  who  had  finished  their  share  in  the 
program,  had  come  out  into  the  audience  in  order 
to  get  a  better  view  of  the  stage.  After  a  little 
hesitation,  they  had  discovered  some  vacant  seats 
behind  Wang  Kum  and  his  friends,  who  were 
sitting  spellbound  in  their  admiration  of  the  scenes 
before  them.  For  a  time  the  boys  listened  atten 
tively  ;  but  a  constant  attendance  at  the  rehearsals 
had  made  the  play  an  old  story  to  them,  and  their 
interest  began  to  flag.  Grant  was  lazily  leaning 
back  in  his  seat,  with  one  hand  outstretched,  ab 
stractedly  swinging  Wang  Kum's  pigtail  to  and 


248         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

fro,  when  Ned  suddenly  started  up,  with  a  naughty 
sparkle  in  his  dark  eyes. 

"  Say,  Howard,  haven't  you  a  piece  of  string  in 
some  of  your  pockets?"  he  whispered. 

"  I  d  'know/'  answered  Howard,  in  the  same 
stealthy  tone.  "What  you  want?  " 

Ned  bent  over  to  speak  a  few  low  words  in  his 
ear,  and  both  the  boys  began  to  giggle. 

"  What's  the  joke?  "  inquired  Grant  curiously; 
while  Howard  dived  into  one  pocket  after  another. 

Ned  cautiously  imparted  the  secret  to  his 
brother,  who  received  it  with  manifest  delight; 
then  he  took  possession  of  the  dozen  or  more 
scraps  of  twine  that  Howard  had  produced,  and 
tied  them  together  to  form  one  long  string.  This 
done,  he  appeared  to  lose  all  consciousness  of  the 
people  around  him,  in  the  interest  of  the  play,  for 
he  bent  forward  with  his  hands  on  his  knees  and 
stared  fixedly  at  the  stage.  A  moment  later  he 
drew  a  long  breath  and  leaned  back  in  his  chair. 
Then  it  became  apparent  that  his  hands  had  not 
been  idle,  for  one  end  of  the  string  was  securely 
tied  about  the  tip  of  Wang  Kum's  queue,  and 
woven  in  and  out  through  the  openwork  back  of 
his  chair,  while  the  rest  of  the  string  was  in  How 
ard's  hands,  to  be  passed  on  in  turn  to  Grant. 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE   OLD   STORY.      249 

Five  minutes  afterwards  the  three  unconscious 
Chinamen  were  firmly  lashed  to  their  seats  and 
the  boys  had  once  more  disappeared  behind  the 
scenes. 

The  play  was  at  last  ended,  and  the  actors  were 
called  before  the  curtain  for  one  final  round  of 
applause,  in  which  the  Chinamen  joined  with  unflag 
ging  zeal.  Then  the  audience  rose  to  leave  the 
hall,  and  the  miners  respectfully  stood  aside  to  let 
their  superintendent  and  his  party  take  the  lead. 
Wang  and  his  brethren  still  sat  quiet,  watching  the 
people  flock  past  them,  with  an  evident  determina 
tion  to  stay  until  the  very  end ;  but  at  length  they 
too  grasped  their  hats  and  started  to  rise.  The  next 
instant  there  was  a  clattering  of  chairs,  followed  by 
three  startled  howls,  which  broke  upon  the  air  and 
turned  every  face  in  the  same  direction.  There  in 
a  row  stood  the  three  Chinamen,  ruefully  rubbing 
the  backs  of  their  heads,  while  their  little  almond 
eyes  seemed  to  be  popping  out  from  their  sockets, 
with  surprise  and  with  the  unwonted  strain  upon 
their  scalps.  From  the  end  of  every  pigtail  dan 
gled  one  of  the  light  folding  chairs  which  filled  the 
room.  Howard's  strings  were  as  strong  as  Ned's 
knots  were  firm.  The  Chinamen  had  not  risen, 
from  their  seats ;  their  seats  had  risen  with  the 
Chinamen. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

MR.   ATHERDEN. 

"  REALLY  and  truly,  Charlie,  I  never  should 
have  known  you ;  you  look  so  perfectly  elegant." 

"  Thank  you,  ma'am  !  "  And  Charlie  bowed  low 
before  his  cousin,  who  joined  him  in  the  laugh  at 
the  unexpected  form  that  her  intended  compliment 
had  taken. 

"  You  know  what  I  mean,"  she  said  saucily. 
"  Of  course,  you  're  always  a  dear  old  boy,  even 
if  you  aren't  a  beauty.  But  now  there  's  a  sort  of 
young  man  look  to  you,  that  makes  me  half  afraid 
of  you." 

"  Perhaps,  if  you  stayed  so,  you  'd  treat  me  a 
little  better,"  suggested  Charlie  tcasingly.  "  I 
feel  most  uncommon  queer,  though.  Do  you 
honestly  like  the  looks,  Allie?" 

Allie  dropped  into  an  easy-chair,  and  surveyed 
him  from  head  to  foot. 

"  Now   turn    around     very    slowly,"    she     com 
manded  ;     "  and    then   walk    off  a   few  steps,   so. 
Yes,"     she     added,     after    an     admiring     pause; 
250 


MR.   ATHERDEN.  251 

"you  really  do  look  very  well,  considering  who 
you  are ;  only  I  never,  never  should  know  you. 
It  just  changes  you  all  over,  and  makes  you  seem 
four  or  five  years  older." 

"Wish  I  were!"  remarked  Charlie  medita 
tively.  "  Only  I  should  be  ready  for  college 
then,  and  have  to  go  back  East  and  leave  you. 
What  a  jolly  year  this  has  been  !  " 

"  Yes,  it  has,"  assented  Allie  absently.  She  was 
still  looking  up  at  her  cousin,  with  a  feeling  of 
sisterly  pride  in  the  tall,  straight  figure  before 
her. 

Montana  had  evidently  agreed  with  the  boy, 
for,  during  the  year  he  had  spent  there,  he  had 
grown  so  rapidly  as  to  leave  Howard  far  below 
him.  Contrary  to  the  custom  of  most  boys,  he 
bore  his  added  inches  with  perfect  ease,  and  had 
entirely  escaped  the  stage  of  awkward  conscious 
ness,  which  falls  to  the  lot  of  nearly  all  growing 
lads.  Even  now,  young  as  he  was,  there  was  a 
quiet  dignity  in  his  manner  which,  combined  with 
his  manly  figure,  made  it  seem  high  time  that  he 
should  take  the  first  marked  step  towards  man's 
estate,  and  leave  off  knickerbockers.  The  new 
suit,  ordered  from  New  York,  had  come  that  day ; 
and  Charlie  had  dressed  himself  up  in  it,  and 


252         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

appeared  before  Allie,  to  demand  her  respectful 
attention. 

Had  Charlie  attired  himself  in  a  checked  apron 
and  sunbonnet,  it  would  have  seemed  a  thoroughly 
admirable  costume  to  his  cousin's  eyes;  but,  on 
this  particular  evening,  Allie's  praise  was  well- 
merited,  for  the  new  suit  was  unmistakably  a 
success.  Charlie  was  one  of  those  few,  but  fortu 
nate  boys  who  can  wear  even  shabby  clothes  with 
an  air  that  gives  them  a  certain  elegance ;  and  he 
had  grace  enough  to  enable  him  to  escape  the 
usual  awkwardness,  which  comes  to  the  young 
girl  in  managing  her  first  train,  to  the  boy  in 
appearing  in  his  first  long  suit.  As  Allie  had  said 
it  made  him  look  much  older  and  more  digni 
fied,  until  she  almost  felt  that  she  had  lost  her 
jovial  playfellow,  and  stood  in  the  presence  of  a 
fine  young  man.  Still,  she  liked  the  change,  as 
long  as  it  really  was  the  same  old  Charlie ;  and 
she  continued  to  watch  him,  while  a  little  con 
tented  smile  gathered  about  the  corners  of  her 
mouth. 

"  Yes,"  she  repeated ;  "  I  should  hardly  have 
known  you.  Come  here  a  minute,  and  I  can 
change  you  so  you  wouldn't  recognize  yourself  a 
bit." 


MR.   ATHERDEN.  253 

Charlie  laughed  at  the  seriousness  of  her  tone, 
as  he  seated  himself  on  the  arm  of  her  chair, 
while  she  patted  and  poked  at  his  hair,  until  she 
had  parted  it  in  the  middle  and  brushed  it  away 
from  his  forehead,  where  it  usually  lay  in  a  close, 
short  fringe.  She  studied  the  effect  for  a  moment ; 
then  she  gently  pulled  off  his  glasses. 

"  Poor  old  boy !  "  she  said  caressingly,  as  she 
drew  her  finger  down  along  the  narrow  white  scar 
that  crossed  his  upper  lid.  "  You  still  carry  your 
beauty-spot;  don't  you?  I  wish  'twould  go  away." 

"  What  for?  Does  it  show  so  very  much?" 
asked  Charlie. 

"  No,  not  a  bit,  with  your  glasses  on  ;  but  I  never 
like  to  think  back  to  that  horrid  day,"  she  replied, 
with  a  frown.  "  I  was  sure  you  were  going  to  die, 
or  something." 

"  Well,  I  didn't.  You  see,  I  'm  tough,"  returned 
Charlie  placidly.  "  Besides,  we  had  some  good 
fun  together,  after  the  first  week  or  two.  But  how 
do  you  like  the  looks?  " 

"  Your  own  great-grandmother  wouldn't  have 
any  idea  who  you  were,"  said  Allie  decidedly. 

"  Most  likely  not,"  observed  Charlie. 

"  But  just  you  go  and  look  in  the  glass,  and  see 
for  yourself!  "  And  Allie  sprang  up,  and  dragged 


254  IN  BLUE  CREEK   CANON. 

her  cousin  to  the  nearest  mirror.  All  at  once  she 
began  to  caper  madly  about  the  room. 

"What's  struck  you,  Allie?"  inquired  Charlie, 
pausing  in  his  contemplation  of  himself  to  stare 
at  his  excited  cousin. 

"  I  Ve  just  had  the  most  lovely  idea,"  said 
Allie  incoherently.  "It's  too  much  fun  for  any 
thing,  and  we  must  do  it." 

"Do  what?" 

"Well,  now  you  see  here,"  she  was  beginning, 
with  sudden  solemnity,  when  her  cousin  inter 
rupted  her,  — 

"  Give  me  my  glasses,  then." 

"  Yes,  I  know  that ;  but  listen  !  Don't  you 
wear  your  suit  again  this  week,  nor  tell  anybody 
you  have  it,  and  don't  let  Howard  tell,  either. 
Next  Tuesday  is  Mrs.  Fisher's  '  At  Home/  you 
know ;  and  we  '11  dress  you  up,  and  you  can  go 
over  there,  and  everybody  will  take  you  for  a 
strange  young  man.  W7on't  it  be  fun  ?  " 

"  Fine  !  "  responded  Charlie,  as  he  led  the  way 
back  to  the  parlor,  and  took  his  favorite  position, 
leaning  against  the  mantel.  "  Only  I  'm  afraid 
everybody 'd  know  me." 

"  Truly  they  wouldn't,"  answered  Allie.  "  Can't 
you  buy  a  mustache  down  at  Bright's?  That 


MR.   ATHERDEN.  255 

would  finish  it  all  up,  and  nobody  would  ever 
have  any  idea  who  you  are.  You  're  as  tall  as 
papa  is,  now."" 

"  Well,  I  '11  think  about  it,"  said  Charlie.  ,"  I  'm 
a  little  bit  afraid  to  try,  only  it  would  be  such 
immense  fun.  You  keep  mum  about  it,  though, 
and  maybe  we  can  put  it  through." 

Allie  carried  her  point;  and,  directly  after 
dinner,  the  next  Tuesday  evening,  Howard  was 
solemnly  warned  not  to  go  near  his  room.  A 
little  later  AUie  knocked  at  the  door  and  was 
admitted.  Just  across  the  threshold,  she  stopped 
in  surprise  and  delight,  as  she  caught  sight  of  the 
elegant  young  man  who  rose  to  meet  her. 

"  How  perfectly  splendid !  "  she  exclaimed. 
"Where  did  you  ever  get  such  a  mustache?  It 
just  matches  your  hair,  and  looks  as  if  it  must 
grow  on." 

"  Hope  I  don't  lose  it  off!  "  returned  Charlie 
fervently,  as  he  rendered  himself  temporarily 
cross-eyed,  in  his  efforts  to  catch  a  glimpse  of 
the  silky  thatch  on  his  upper  lip.  But  I  wish 
you  'd  take  my  hair  in  hand,  Allie  ;  it's  so  used  to 
a  bang,  that  it  just  won't  stay  parted." 

"  Let  me  try."  And  Allie  took  the  comb,  and 
devoted  herself  to  coaxing  her  cousin's  refractory 


256         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

locks  to  lie  in  the  desired  position.  "  It  wants  to 
be  just  in  the  middle,  for  you  're  going  to  be  the 
dearest  little  dudelet  you  ever  saw.  Now  take  off 
your  glasses." 

"  Oh,  I  must  have  those,"  remonstrated  Charlie. 
"  I  'm  blind  as  a  bat  without  them,  and  I  shall  be 
sure  to  run  into  something,  and  tip  it  over." 

"  No,  you  won't,"  said  Allie  composedly.  "  If 
you  wear  them,  people  will  be  sure  to  know  you." 

"  But,  if  I  take  them  off,  my  scar  will  show," 
argued  Charlie ;  "  and  that  will  give  it  all  away. 
But,  I  say,  I  have  some  eye-glasses  somewhere, 
that  the  oculist  gave  me,  to  start  with.  I  don't 
ever  wear  them,  'cause  they  wouldn't  stick  to  my 
nose.  I  lost  them  off  into  the  soup,  the  first 
night  at  dinner,  and  I  bought  my  spectacles  early 
the  next  morning ;  but  perhaps  I  can  keep  them 
on  now." 

"  I  should  think  you  ought  to ;  your  nose  is 
large  enough,"  remarked  Allie,  with  calm  disre 
spect.  "  But  get  them ;  I  can  tell  better  when  I 
see  them." 

There  was  an  interval  of  silence,  while  Charlie 
rummaged  in  his  bureau  drawers.  At  length  he 
unearthed  the  little  case  from  a  box  containing  an 
odd  assortment  of  light  hardware,  broken  knives, 


MR.    ATHERDEN.  257 

stray  nails,  an  awl  or  two,  and  a  collection  of 
trout  reels  and  flies. 

"  Here  'tis,"  he  said.  "I  remember  now;  I 
used  it  to  wind  my  best  line  on.  How  will  they 
go?"  And  he  turned  to  face  his  cousin,  with  a 
conscious  laugh  which  promptly  dislodged  the 
glasses  from  his  nose. 

"  That's  better,"  said  Allie  approvingly;  "  they 
don't  look  a  bit  the  same.  I  don't  like  them  as 
well  as  I  do  the  spectacles,  for  all  the  time ;  but 
they  change  you  more.  Now  remember  to  be 
very  easy  and  elegant,  and  don't  act  shy.  Be 
have  as  if  you  thought  you  were  very  good  to 
speak  to  them,  and  they  '11  like  you  all  the  better. 
And  be  sure  you  don't  go  too  early." 

"But  what  are  you  going  to  do  now?"  de 
manded  Charlie,  as  she  turned  to  the  door. 
"  You  aren't  going  to  be  mean  enough  to  leave 
me  here  all  alone,  till  it's  time  to  go?" 

"  I  'm  going  to  dress  me,"  returned  Allie.  "  I 
begged  an  invitation  from  Marjorie,  and  I  'm 
going  over  there  with  mamma.  You  don't  sup 
pose  that  I'm  going  to  lose  all  the  fun,  do 
you?"  And  she  departed. 

Society  in  Blue  Creek  was  by  no  means  as 
simple  as  a  stranger  might  have  been  led  to 


258  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

expect.  During  the  winter  months,  there  were 
few  evenings  that  were  not  given  up  to  some 
entertainment;  and  the  little  set  to  which  the 
Burnams  and  Fishers  and  Everetts  belonged  were 
the  gayest  of  the  gay,  with  dinner  parties  and 
impromptu  dances  following  one  another  in  rapid 
succession.  The  enjoyment  of  these  festivities 
was  in  no  wise  marred  by  the  fact  that  one 
always  met  exactly  the  same  people.  Though 
the  resources  of  the  camp  were  not  great,  yet  this 
set  of  friends  was  a  thoroughly  congenial  one, 
consisting,  as  it  did,  of  a  dozen  or  more  young 
married  couples,  together  with  several  stray  bach 
elors  and  a  very  few  older  people.  Young  women 
were  deplorably  scarce  in  Blue  Creek,  and,  for  a 
year,  Louise  had  been  the  acknowledged  belle 
among  them,  as  she  would  have  been,  however,  in 
the  face  of  many  rivals.  Strangers,  who  were  at 
tracted  to  her  side  by  her  beauty,  remained  there, 
charmed  by  her  easy  manners  and  her  ready  wit ; 
so,  wherever  she  went  she  was  sure  to  be  the  cen 
tral  figure  of  a  little  group  of  admirers,  of  whom 
Dr.  Brownlee  was  usually  the  one  nearest  her  side. 
According  to  one  of  the  pleasant  customs  of 
the  little  town,  Mrs.  Fisher  had  her  weekly  recep 
tion  day.  On  Tuesday  evenings,  her  house  was 


MR.   ATHERDEN.  259 

always  filled  with  the  friends  whom,  with  rare 
tact,  she  left  to  entertain  themselves,  while  she 
moved  up  and  down  her  charming  rooms,  with  a 
word  to  one  and  a  smile  for  another,  now  break 
ing  in  upon  a  flirtation  which  threatened  to  last 
too  long,  now  bringing  stray  wallflowers  into  the 
middle  of  some  hospitable  group,  and  never  for 
an  instant  forgetting  to  keep  a  watchful  eye  over 
any  stranger  who  might  chance  to  be  among  her 
guests.  There  was  an  attractive  informality  about 
these  evenings,  when  one  was  at  liberty  to  appear 
in  a  street  gown,  or  an  evening  costume,  and 
where  the  little  supper  was  so  simple  as  merely 
to  be  a  pleasant  break  in  the  midst  of  the 
dancing,  but  not  to  suggest  the  idea  of  an  over 
burdened  hostess,  struggling  to  feed  a  ravenous 
multitude.  No  one  else  in  the  town  had  quite 
the  same  gift  for  entertaining  as  Mrs.  Fisher ;  no 
one  else  could  carry  out  an  "At  Home  "  with  quite 
such  delightful  simplicity.  She  gave  them  the  use 
of  her  house,  together  with  a  cordial,  unaffected 
welcome,  and  she  left  the  rest  to  take  care  of 
itself.  With  this  happy  talent  for  receiving  her 
friends,  it  was  not  strange  that  the  tall,  blonde 
woman  was  one  of  the  most  popular  matrons  in 
the  camp. 


260         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

This  Tuesday  evening  was  bidding  fair  to  be  as 
pleasant  as  its  predecessors  had  been.  The  rooms 
were  filled,  and  the  air  was  echoing  with  the  soft 
buzz  of  voices.  A  little  pause  in  the  dancing  had 
scattered  the  young  people,  who  were  wandering 
about,  some  in  the  back  parlor,  watching  the  older 
guests  grouped  about  the  whist  tables,  some  in  the 
"  den,"  across  the  hall,  where  the  only  light  came 
from  the  great  blazing  fire  which  flickered  over 
the  pictures  on  the  walls,  and  over  the  easy-chairs 
scattered  about  the  cosy  room  At  the  very  back 
of  the  broad  hall  sat  Louise  and  Dr.  Brownlee, 
resting  after  their  waltz,  while  they  talked  of  one 
thing  and  another,  the  every-day  interests  which 
they  shared  in  common.  All  at  once  Mrs.  Fisher 
stood  before  them,  with  a  young  man  at  her 
side. 

"  I  have  been  looking  for  you,  Louise,"  she 
said.  "  Here  is  some  one  that  I  want  to  intro 
duce  to  you  :  Mr.  Atherden,  Miss  Everett.  Mr. 
Atherden  is  a  stranger,  Miss  Everett,"  she  added; 
"  and  I  leave  it  to  you  to  make  him  feel  at  home. 
Dr.  Brownlee,  I  wish  you  'd  come  and  play  the 
agreeable  to  Mrs.  Nelson;  she  is  looking  dread 
fully  bored."  And  she'led  him  away  towards  the 
parlor. 


MR.    ATHERDEN.  26 1 

As  Louise  glanced  up,  at  the  introduction,  she 
had  been  attracted  by  the  young  stranger  before 
her.  He  was  a  man  of  about  her  own  age,  ap 
parently,  not  very  tall,  but  with  a  proud,  erect 
carriage  and  a  simple  dignity  which  gave  him  the 
look  of  being  a  much  larger  man.  His  face,  in 
spite  of  his  eye-glasses  and  his  silky,  brown 
mustache,  was  almost  boyish  in  its  outlines ;  and 
he  was  faultlessly  dressed,  from  his  white  tie  and 
the  white  carnation  in  his  buttonhole,  down  to 
the  toes  of  his  shining  shoes.  His  whole  appear 
ance  was  so  likable  that  Louise  welcomed  him  cor 
dially,  in  spite  of  her  regret  at  losing  the  doctor's 
society,  and  at  once  set  about  making  him  feel  at 
home. 

"  How  long  have  you  been  in  Blue  Creek,  Mr. 
Atherden?"  she  asked  politely.  "I  don't  re 
member  meeting  you  before." 

"  I  only  came  a  week  ago,"  replied  Mr.  Ather 
den,  as  he  took  possession  of  the  chair  which  Dr. 
Brownlee  had  so  lately  quitted.  I  Ve  been  in  San 
Francisco,  the  last  two  or  three  years ;  but  I  came 
up  here  to  see  about " —  He  hesitated  for  an 
instant;  then  he  went  on,  with  a  little  laugh. 
"Well,  the  fact  is,  I  came  up  here  to  open  an 
office.  I  'm  a  doctor,  you  know,  and  I  heard  that 


262         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

you  hadn't  a  very  good  one  here,  and  that  there 
was  a  possible  opening  for  another  man." 

"  Indeed?  "  Louise's  tone  was  icy  in  its  polite 
ness. 

"Yes,"  resumed  the  young  man,  eyeing  her 
closely;  "  so  I  thought  I'd  run  up  here  and  see 
for  myself;  but  I  found  a  first-rate  man  was  in 
ahead  of  me,  so  I  must  depart  in  search  of  a  fresh 
field." 

"  Then  you  are  not  to  stay  long?  "  said  Louise, 
as  she  smiled  on  him  with  all  her  former  kindness. 
"  Blue  Creek  is  really  a  pleasant  place  when  you 
are  used  to  it.  You  are  unfortunate  in  seeing  it  at 
this  season." 

Her  companion  made  some  light  answer,  and 
they  went  on  chatting  like  a  pair  of  old  friends. 
Louise  was  soon  delighted  to  find  that  the  stranger 
cared  for  music  as  much  as  she  did,  and  was 
familiar  with  the  best  works  of  the  masters,  while 
he  showed  a  thorough  acquaintance  with  New 
York  and  its  surroundings  which  was  remarkable 
in  a  man  who  professed  to  have  spent  his  life  in 
California.  There  was  something  indescribably 
charming  in  his  quiet  ease  of  manner  and  in  his 
boyish  fun ;  and  Louise  found  herself  thoroughly 
enjoying  their  pleasant,  off-hand  conversation, 


MR.   ATHERDEN.  263 

though  all  the  time  she  was  conscious  of  a  hazy 
resemblance  to  some  one  whom  she  had  met  before. 
Moved  by  this  uncertain  idea,  she  studied  him 
closely,  while  in  her  own  mind  she  went  over  and 
over  her  list  of  acquaintances,  trying  to  find  the 
person  of  whom  she  was  thinking.  Nor  could  she 
tell  wherein  the  resemblance  lay,  whether  in  the 
voice,  the  manner,  or  in  some  feature ;  and  yet  it 
was  there  all  the  time,  a  fleeting,  haunting  likeness 
to  some  former  friend.  Then  she  thought  she  had 
a  clue,  for,  in  answer  to  a  sudden  jest  on  her  part, 
the  stranger  laughed  until  his  glasses  fell  off  and 
dropped  to  the  floor,  and  as  he  stooped  to  pick 
them  up,  she  caught  sight  of  a  tiny  scar  on  his 
right  eyelid.  Surely  she  had  seen  that  scar  before, 
or,  at  least,  one  much  like  it ;  and  once  more  she 
went  through  her  friends,  trying  to  place  the  mark, 
but  with  no  better  success  than  before. 

For  a  long  half  hour  they  sat  there,  while  Mr. 
Athcrden  entertained  her  so  well  that  she  was  quite 
unconscious  of  Dr.  Brownlee,  who  came  to  the 
parlor  door  more  than  once  to  cast  a  longing 
glance  in  her  direction.  But  her  back  was  turned 
towards  him,  and  she  was  too  much  interested  in 
their  talk  to  heed  the  proudly  defiant  glance  with 
which  Mr.  Atherden  met  the  gaze  of  his  rival. 


264  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

The  doctor  was  not  so  slow  to  interpret  his  mean- 
ing,  and  he  gave  his  mustache  a  vicious  jerk,  as  he 
walked  away  to  pay  his  homage  at  some  other 
shrine.  Mr.  Atherden  watched  him  with  an 
amused  smile ;  then  he  turned  to  Allie  who  stood 
before  him  with  a  plate  of  sandwiches  in  her  hand. 

"  Ah,  thank  you,  my  little  maid,"  he  said  with 
infinite  condescension,  while  he  helped  Louise  and 
then  himself.  "  Mrs.  Fisher  is  to  be  congratulated 
upon  having  such  charming  assistants."  And  he 
looked  straight  up  into  the  eyes  of  Allie,  who 
flushed  a  rosy  red  as  she  hurriedly  turned  away. 

But  supper  was  over,  and  the  tempting  notes  of 
a  waltz  rang  out  from  the  piano  in  the  parlor. 
Mr.  Atherden  rose  to  his  feet. 

"  It  is  a  long  time  since  I  have  danced,  Miss 
Everett;  may  I  not  have  the  pleasure  now?"  And 
settling  his  glasses  firmly  on  his  nose,  he  smiled 
invitingly  down  at  her,  as  he  stood  waiting  to  lead 
her  to  the  parlor. 

Louise  hesitated  for  a  moment.  The  doctor  had 
asked  her  for  this  very  waltz ;  but  already  the 
room  was  full  of  moving  couples,  and  she  could 
see  him  dancing  with  the  pretty  young  teacher, 
lately  come  from  the  East.  With  a  little  feeling 
of  pique  she  turned  to  her  escort,  and  was  soon 


MR.    ATIIERDEN.  265 

gliding  about  the  room  with  an  apparent  delight 
in  her  partner,  who  was  dancing  quite  as  well  as 
he  had  talked.  The  waltz  ended,  she  turned  away, 
without  a  glance  at  the  neglectful  doctor,  and  fol 
lowed  her  new  acquaintance  to  their  former  seats 
in  the  hall. 

"  How  well  you  waltz  !  "  she  said  frankly,  as  she 
fanned  herself.  "  It's  such  a  rare  thing  to  meet  a 
really  good  dancer  out  here." 

"  Such  a  partner  would  inspire  anyone,"  returned 
her  companion  gallantly,  while  he  twirled  his 
mustache  with  a  complacent  delight  in  it  which 
convinced  Louise  that  it  was  of  recent  growth. 

Then  he  entered  into  a  spirited  account  of  his 
journey  and  his  adventures  in  coming  into  the 
strange  place,  while  Louise  sat  leaning  back  in  her 
chair,  watching  him,  haunted  by  that  vague  resem 
blance.  Dr.  Brownlee  was  standing  just  inside  the 
parlor  door  with  his  eyes  fixed  upon  them  long 
ingly,  although  he  was  apparently  engrossed  by 
the  sprightly  conversation  of  his  former  partner. 
But  Mr.  Atherden  made  no  motion  as  if  to  leave 
his  place ;  he  merely  glared  defiantly  at  the  doc 
tor,  while  he  twisted  his  mustache  and  chatted  on, 
and  the  doctor  was  forced  to  go  away  again. 

Notwithstanding  her  apparent  unconsciousness 


266         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

of  his  presence,  Louise  had  looked  after  him  with 
a  little  wistful  expression  in  her  blue  eyes.  At  that 
moment,  she  heard  a  sudden  exclamation,  and  she 
turned  back  to  face  her  companion  once  more, 
just  in  time  to  see  the  silky  brown  mustache  yield 
to  too  violent  a  jerk  and  fall  into  his  lap,  while  the 
young  man,  in  no  wise  embarrassed  by  the  acci 
dent,  leaned  back  in  his  chair  and  burst  into  a 
shout  of  laughter.  One  glance  at  him  had  told 
her  the  secret  of  the  puzzling  resemblance ;  and 
she  echoed  his  laugh  with  a  thorough  enjoyment 
of  the  boyish  caper. 

"  Charlie  MacGregor,  you  incorrigible  imp  !  " 
she  exclaimed,  when  she  could  get  her  breath. 
"  How  did  you  ever  dare  to  come  here  in  this 
fashion?" 

"Why  not?"  inquired  Charlie.  "  You 'd  never 
have  known  me  now,  if  this  miserable  mustache 
had  only  stuck  where  it  belonged.  But,  honestly, 
Miss  Lou,  don't  I  make  a  fair  actor?  " 

"  Too  good,  Charlie,"  she  answered,  with  a  fresh 
laugh  over  the  unexpected  ending  to  her  flirtation. 
"  Why  haven't  you  ever  told  us  you  could  waltz 
so  well,  though?  " 

"  I  didn't  suppose  I  could ;  it 's  so  long  since 
I  Ve  tried  it.  Besides,  none  of  the  other  fellows 


MR.   ATHERDEN.  26; 

do,  and  I  was  afraid  they  'd  think  't  was  silly  for  a 
boy,"  answered  Charlie.  "  Allie  started  this 
scheme,  and  put  on  the  finishing  touches.  But 
didn't  you  really  know  me,  Miss  Lou?  " 

"  Not  a  bit.  Nobody  wojuld  ever  have  suspected, 
if  you  hadn't  been  quite  so  proud  of  your  mus 
tache,  Mr.  Atherden.  By  the  way,  where  did  you 
get  the  name?  " 

"  It 's  my  middle  one  ;   didn't  you  know  that  ?  " 

"  No ;  but,"  she  added  hastily,  "  here  comes 
somebody.  Really,  Charlie,  you  don't  want  to 
spoil  the  joke  by  getting  caught ;  you  'd  better  go, 
now."  And  she  pushed  him  towards  the  door. 

Five  minutes  later,  she  was  offering  to  Mrs. 
Fisher  the  apologies  of  her  stranger  guest,  for  the 
sudden  business  which  had  called  him  away  so 
abruptly.  Then,  after  an  inviting  glance  which 
promptly  brought  the  doctor  to  her  side,  she  led 
the  way  to  the  "  den,"  where  she  pledged  him  to 
secrecy,  and  then  told  him  the  story  of  her  recent 
companion. 

"  But  there  's  one  sure  thing,"  Charlie  said,  with 
impenitent  glee,  as  he  was  bidding  Allie  good 
night;  "  for  once  in  my  life,  I  cut  Dr.  Brownlee 
out  with  Miss  Lou,  and  that 's  something  to  be 
proud  of." 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

THE    COMPLETED    STORY. 

"  THEY  say  there's  a*  case  of  scarlet  fever  over 
the  other  side  of  the  creek,"  remarked  Mr.  Ever 
ett  at  dinner,  one  night  about  a  month  after  Char 
lie's  unexpected  appearance  in  society. 

"  Scarlet  fever  !  Oh,  dear,  where?  "  asked  Louise 
anxiously. 

"  You  needn't  be  scared,  Lou;  people  don't 
catch  it  at  your  age,"  responded  Grant,  with  broth 
erly  impertinence. 

"  I  'm  not  afraid  for  myself,"  she  answered  seri 
ously.  "  Where  is  it,  papa?  I  don't  want  the 
boys  to  get  into  it." 

"  It 's  way  up  beyond  the  smelter,"  replied  Mr. 
Everett  lightly.  "  You  don't  need  to  worry,  Lou, 
for  it  is  so  far  away,  and  only  a  light  case.  The 
boys  would  better  not  go  over  that  way,  and  then 
they  '11  be  safe  enough.  Dr.  Hofer  has  it  in  charge, 
so  it  will  probably  be  all  right." 

"  I  suppose  so ;  but  I  'm  always  afraid  of  it," 
said  Louise  uneasily.  "  I  hope  they  '11  quarantine 
them,  or  something." 

268 


THE   COMPLETED    STORY.  269 

"  Of  course  they  will,"  said  her  father.  "  No 
doctor  that 's  half  a  doctor  would  let  such  a  matter 
go  unguarded.  The  board  of  health  wouldn't 
allow  it,  either,"  he  added,  in  a  tone  of  such  deci 
sion  that  Louise  accepted  his  belief  as  final,  and 
thought  no  more  about  the  matter. 

Ten  days  later  she  stood  before  her  mirror, 
dressing  for  a  Mardi  gras  party  at  the  Fishers'. 
For  the  past  three  weeks,  this  coming  social  event 
had  been  the  chief  theme  of  conversation  in  Blue 
Creek ;  for,  taking  place,  as  it  did,  at  the  very  close 
of  the  season,  it  was  intended  to  be  a  fitting  climax 
to  all  the  gayety  which  had  gone  before.  Louise 
had  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  occasion  as 
heartily  as  a  young  and  pretty  girl  could  do,  and 
had  spent  long  hours  in  planning  the  new  gown 
which  her  father  had  insisted  she  must  have. 

"  Something  simple  and  pretty,  Lou  ;  but  good 
of  its  kind,"  had  been  his  only  instruction.  "  Don't 
spoil  it,  for  the  sake  of  a  few  dollars ;  just  get 
something  that  can  stand  on  its  own  merits,  and 
not  have  to  be  patched  out  with  laces  and  ribbons 
and  all  sorts  of  other  gimcrackery.  You  know 
what  I  mean ;  but  I  want  my  daughter  to  look  her 
best." 

Nevertheless,  after  all  her  anticipations,  Louise 


2/0         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

was  looking  a  little  troubled  and  anxious,  as  she 
stood  there,  arraying  herself  in  the  pale  blue  crape 
gown  which  fell  about  her  in  soft,  clinging  folds, 
unbroken  by  any  ornament  except  the  crescent  of 
pearls  that  fastened  the  high,  close  ruff  at  her  neck. 
For  some  reason,  Ned  had  been  feeling  ill  that 
day.  He  had  complained  of  being  cold,  in  the 
morning;  and,  instead  of  going  to  Mr.  Nelson's  as 
usual,  he  had  lain  on  the  sofa  all  day  long,  too 
miserable  even  to  go  with  Grant  to  the  Burnams', 
where  the  boys  had  been  asked  to  spend  the  after 
noon  and  dine.  For  the  past  day  or  two,  Mr. 
Everett  had  been  away  from  home  on  business, 
and  would  only  return  just  in  time  to  take  his 
daughter  to  the  Fishers' ;  and  Mrs.  Pennypoker 
had  made  light  of  the  boy's  trouble,  pronouncing 
it  merely  a  slight  fit  of  indigestion  which  would 
be  gone  by  the  next  morning.  Still,  Louise  had 
been  alarmed,  unnecessarily  so,  Mrs.  Pennypoker 
had  told  her.  But  the  boy  seemed  thoroughly  ill 
and  feverish,  and  she  had  persuaded  him  to  go 
to  bed  early,  promising  to  hurry  her  dressing,  and 
go  in  to  sit  with  him  until  the  carriage  came  for 
her. 

Now,  as  she  arranged  her  great  bunch  of  white 
roses,    and   tied    them   with   a  long   blue  ribbon, 


THE   COMPLETED    STORY.  2? I 

before  laying  them  ready  beside  her  fan  and  gloves, 
she  was  half  resolving  to  give  up  the  party  and 
stay  quietly  at  home  with  Ned.  Of  the  two  boys, 
he  was  decidedly  her  favorite  ;  and  she  disliked  the 
idea  of  leaving  him  to  the  mercies  of  Mrs.  Penny- 
poker,  whose  tenderness  was  a  little  too  brazen  in 
its  nature  to  be  acceptable  to  an  affectionate,  im 
pressionable  lad  like  Ned.  However,  she  knew 
that  her  father  was  hurrying  his  return  on  purpose 
to  act  as  her  escort,  so  she  was  unwilling  to  dis 
appoint  him  at  the  last  moment  She  was  still 
hesitating  what  course  to  pursue,  as  she  gathered 
up  her  train  and  started  for  her  brother's  room, 
with  the  largest  of  the  roses  in  her  hand,  to  leave 
with  him  when  she  went  away.  But,  as  soon  as 
she  came  in  sight  of  Ned's  face,  she  felt  no  further 
doubt.  Unaccustomed  to  illness  as  she  was,  she 
saw  at  a  glance  that  the  boy  was  worse,  although 
he  opened  his  eyes  and  smiled  at  her  approvingly 
as  she  paused  beside  him. 

"  You  look  just  gay,"  he  'said  hoarsely. 

"Gayer  than  you  feel?"  Louise  asked  play 
fully,  while  she  bent  over  him  and  laid  her  cool 
hand  against  his  flushed  cheek. 

"I'm  all  right;  only  I'm  so  warm,  and  my 
throat 's  a  good  deal  sore,"  Ned  answered ;  then 


2  72  IN  BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

he  settled  back  under  the  blankets,  and  closed  his 
eyes  again. 

Louise  watched  him  closely  for  a  moment.  In 
spite  of  Mrs.  Pennypoker's  assurances,  this  was  not 
like  any  form  of  indigestion  she  had  ever  seen,  and 
she  determined  to  send  Wang  Kum  for  Dr.  Brown- 
lee.  From  past  experience,  she  knew  that  Mrs. 
Pennypoker  would  object  to  such  a  course,  for  she 
had  unlimited  faith  in  her  stock  of  home  medicines, 
and  regarded  the  professional  services  of  a  doctor 
as  invariably  leading  to  the  gloomy  ministrations 
of  the  undertaker.  Mrs.  Pennypoker  had  never 
quite  forgiven  Mrs.  Burnam  for  disregarding  the 
poultice  she  had  prescribed  for  Charlie's  eye ;  and 
now,  all  day  long,  she  had  been  persecuting  Ned 
with  alternate  doses  of  ginger  tea  and  "  boneset 
bitters,"  which  were  her  staple  remedies  for  almost 
every  ill  to  which  flesh  was  heir.  Louise  had  sub 
mitted,  much  against  her  better  judgment;  but  now 
she  felt  that  the  time  had  come  for  decided  action, 
so  she  stealthily  made"  her  way  to  the  kitchen  in 
search  of  Wang  Kum. 

"  I  wish  you  'd  go  over  and  ask  Dr.  Brownlee  to 
come  in  here  for  a  few  minutes,  as  soon  as  he  can, 
Wang,"  she  said,  in  a  low  voice. 

Wang  Kum  nodded  wisely. 


THE  COMPLETED    STORY.  2/3 

« 

"  All  light;  Wang  sabe.  You  no  wan'  Mis' 
Pen'plok  know."  And  he  departed  on  his  errand. 

Quarter  of  an  hour  later  the  doctor  came.  Wang 
had  interrupted  him  in  the  midst  of  dressing  for  the 
party,  and  he  had  hastily  finished  his  toilet  and 
hurried  over  to  the  Everetts,  rather  at  a  loss  to 
account  for  the  summons.  Louise  met  him  at  the 
door. 

"  Dr.  Brownlee  !  "  she  exclaimed,  with  an  accent 
of  relief;  "  it  seemed  as  if  you  'd  never  come." 

The  doctor  looked  at  her  in  surprise.  From 
Wang's  unconcerned  manner,  he  had  supposed 
that  his  message  was  in  some  way  connected  with 
the  coming  party ;  but  the  girl's  pale,  anxious  face 
showed  that  there  was  some  more  serious  cause 
for  her  sending  to  him.  And  yet  he  was  only  a 
human  man;  and,  in  spite  of  his  quick  sympathy 
for  her  unknown  trouble,  he  paused  for  a  moment 
to  gaze  at  her  admiringly,  as  she  stood  there  with 
her  long,  light  gown  sweeping  about  her  feet,  and 
one  hand  stretched  out  to  welcome  him,  while  in 
the  other  she  still  held  the  great  white  rose  that 
she  had  taken  from  the  bunch  he  had  sent  her. 
Then  the  instinct  of  the  doctor  came  uppermost 
once  more. 

"  Is  some  one  ill?  "  he  asked  briefly. 


2/4  IN  BLUE  CREEK   CANON. 

"Yes;  it's  Ned,"  answered  Louise  hurriedly, 
"  He  hasn't  been  well  all  day,  and  he  's  worse  to 
night,  so  I  wanted  you  to  see  him.  Cousin  Eu- 
phemia  says  it 's  nothing  but  —  Come,  you  can 
see  for  yourself." 

In  a  moment  more  they  were  leaning  over  Ned, 
their  evening  costumes  contrasting  strangely  with 
the  flushed  face  of  the  restless  little  patient.  With 
his  usual  bright,  off-hand  manner,  the  doctor 
greeted  Ned,  as  if  his  coming  had  been  simply  a 
mattef  of  chance.  But  he  took  careful  note  of  his 
pulse  and  temperature,  and  asked  a  short,  direct 
question  or  two ;  then,  after  a  few  words  more,  he 
left  the  room,  beckoning  to  Louise  to  follow  him. 

"  I  'm  glad  you  sent  to  me  without  waiting  any 
longer,  Miss  Everett,"  he  told  her,  as  soon  as  they 
were  in  the  parlor  once  more  "  We  're  going  to 
have  a  case  of  scarlet  fever  in  there,  and  it 's  high 
time  some  one  was  looking  out  for  it." 

''Scarlet  fever  —  Ned  have  scarlet  fever!"  re 
peated  his  sister  slowly,  as  she  dropped  into  a 
chair.  "Do  you  really  mean  it,  Dr.  Brownlee? 
Is  he  very  ill?" 

"Not  yet,"  returned  the  doctor.  "But,  first  of 
all,  where  is  Grant?  We  must  keep  him  out  of 
the  way." 


THE   COMPLETED   $TORY.  2/5 

"  He's  attheBurnams',"  answered  Louise,  rising 
and  walking  nervously  about  the  room. 

"  Well,  send  WTang  over,  and  have  Grant  stay 
there.  Mrs.  Burnam  will  be  willing  to  look  out 
for  him,  I  know ;  and  he  isn't  likely  to  give  them 
any  exposure,  —  the  mischief  would  be  done  by 
this  time,  anyway.  And  then  you  ought  to  go 
to—" 

"  I  shall  not  go  anywhere,"  she  answered  de 
cidedly. 

"But,  Miss  Everett,  think  of  the  danger  of  your 
taking  the  fever.  I  shall  have  to  quarantine  the 
house,  too ;  and  Mrs.  Pennypoker  will  be  here  to 
take  care  of  Ned." 

Louise  stopped  in  her  restless  walk,  and  turned 
to  face  the  doctor,  with  her  head  raised  proudly 
and  a  scornful  curve  to  her  lips. 

"  Dr.  Brownlee,  do  you  think  that  I  am  a  cow 
ard?"  she  asked  with  cutting  emphasis.  "Ned 
may  be  very  ill,  and  I  could  never  teave  him  with 
Cousin  Euphemia." 

"  But  tlu  danger,"  he  urged  again  feebly,  al 
though  he  felt  that  her  decision  was  the  right  one, 
and  he  admired  her  for  it,  even  while  he  shrank 
from  the  thought  of  her  possible  peril. 

Louise  looked  steadily  into  his  eyes. 


276  IN   BLUE  CREEK   CANON. 

"  Ned  is  my  brother,"  she  safd  firmly,  though 
her  lips  were  quivering;  "  and  it  is  my  right  to 
stay.  Besides,  if  anything  should  happen  "  — 
She  paused  abruptly,  while  the  tears  rushed  to 
her  eyes. 

"Just  as  you  think  best,"  said  the  doctor 
gently.  "You  are  needlessly  alarmed  to-night, 
Miss  PLverett.  I  will  tell  you  the  exact  truth: 
Ned  is  a  very  sick  boy,  but  there  is  no  present 
danger  for  him.  I  needn't  say  that  I  shall  do  all 
I  can  to  make  it  easier  for  you,  but "  —  he  hesi 
tated  ;  then  added,  with  one  of  his  cheery  laughs, 
"  The  fact  is,  I  'm  most  awfully  glad  that  you  insist 
on  staying.  Mrs.  Pennypoker  is  a  good  woman ; 
but  she 's  no  nurse,  and  Ned  needs  somebody 
that 's  a  little  less  like  a  steam  saw-mill,  if  he  is 
going  to  be  ill  for  a  week  or  so.  Now,  I  '11  go 
down  and  get  a  prescription  or  two  put  up,  and 
stop  to  see  Mrs.  Burnam  about  Grant's  staying 
there,  and  then  I  '11  be  back  again." 

"But  is  it  necessary?"  remonstrated  Louise, 
although  she  felt  the  support  of  his  presence,  and 
was  grateful  for  it.  "  Papa  will  be  here  soon,  or 
Wang  can  go ;  and  you  were  going  to  the 
Fishers." 

"  The  Fishers  can  get  along  without  either   of 


THE   COMPLETED    STORY.  2 77 

us  to-night,"  he  said  laughingly.  "  We  '11  have 
our  party  heie;  we  seem  to  be  all  ready  for  it." 
And  he  smiled  meaningly  at  her  dainty  gown. 

The  door  closed  behind  him,  and  Louise  went 
quietly  to  her  room,  to  take  off  her  gown  and  put 
on  a  soft  white  wrapper,  before  going  back  to  her 
brother.  From  the  first,  she  had  been  sure,  from 
the  doctor's  manner,  that  he  had  felt  alarmed 
about  Ned ;  but,  in  her  present  mood,  she  was 
grateful  to  him  for  his  assumed  carelessness,  and 
she  appreciated  the  kindness  with  which  he  was 
giving  up  the  evening  to  her  needs.  Some  sud 
den  girlish  regret  made  her  snatch  up  the  roses 
and  bury  her  face  in  them,  as  two  great  tears 
rolled  down  her  cheeks ;  then  she  quickly  untied 
the  flowers  and  put  them  back  into  the  bowl,  all 
but  one,  which  she  fastened  in  her  gown,  to  be 
her  companion  and  comfort  in  her  long,  anxious 
evening. 

Early  the  next  morning  Dr.  Brownlee  was  there 
again ;  and  for  the  next  week  he  was  constant  in 
his  attendance,  for  the  boy  was  very,  very  ill. 
Day  after  day  the  fever  had  increased,  until  it 
seemed  as  if  the  young,  strong  life  must  yield  to 
its  power.  Now  he  lay  in  a  heavy  stupor,  now 
he  muttered  and  laughed  to  himself  in  wild  de- 


2/8         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

lirium ;  but  each  night  found  him  a  little  weaker 
than  he  had  been  the  night  before,  and  each 
morning  brought  from  the  doctor's  lips  the  same 
sad  verdict,  "  No  better."  During  all  these  long 
days,  Louise  had  scarcely  left  the  room,  but 
watched  over  him,  night  and  day,  with  a  fierce 
ness  of  devotion  which  resented  any  interference. 

"  He  's  mine,  I  tell  you,"  she  said,  turning  on 
the  doctor,  who  was  trying  to  coax  her  from  the 
room.  "  He 's  my  brother  and  my  favorite  — 
oh,  why  can't  you  understand?  He  keeps  call 
ing  me,  when  he  doesn't  know  anybody  else ; 
and  what  if  he  should  come  to  himself  and 
want  me,  and  I  shouldn't  be  there?  Let  me  stay 
with  him  while  I  can,  for  it  may  not  be  so  very 
long — Oh,  my  Ned  !  "  And  brushing  away  the 
hot  tears,  she  turned  and  went  back  to  her  old 
place. 

Two  days  later  the  doctor  slowly  went  up  the 
steps  to  the  door.  His  heart  was  heavy  with 
dread,  for  he  knew  that  the  crisis  was  at  hand, 
and  he  felt  that  the  issue  was  more  than  doubtful. 
Without  ringing  the  bell  for  Wang  Kum  to  admit 
him,  he  entered  the  house,  and  went  directly  to 
Ned's  room.  He  was  in  there  for  a  long  time ; 
then  he  left  Mr.  Everett  and  Mrs.  Pcnnypoker 


THE   COMPLETED    STORY.  2 79 

with  the  boy,  and  came  out  into  the  hall  again. 
As  he  passed  the  parlor  door,  he  paused  for  a 
moment;  then  he  pushed  it  open,  and  went  into 
the  room.  Beside  the  table  sat  Louise,  with  her 
head  resting  upon  her  folded  arms,  so  still  that 
he  thought  she  must  have  fallen  asleep  from  sheer 
exhaustion.  But,  as  she  heard  his  step  she  raised 
her  head  to  speak  to  him,  and  he  was  shocked  to 
see  the  hard,  drawn  lines  on  her  pale  face,  and 
the  dull,  cold  light  in  her  eyes. 

"  They  say  it  can't  last  much  longer,"  she  said 
wearily,  and  without  asking  him  for  his  opinion. 

"  No,"  he  assented  gently,  as  he  sat  down  by 
her  side.  "  It  can't  be  like  this  long;  the  change 
will  come  in  a  few  hours,  and  then  I  hope  our 
Ned  will  be  better." 

But  Louise  shook  her  head. 

"What's  the  use  of  saying  that,  Dr.  Brownlee?  " 
she  said,  in  a  low,  strained  voice.  "  You  don't 
mean  it,  I  know ;  and  I  'm  not  a  baby,  to  be 
comforted  with  just  words.  Oh,  doctor,  if  I  could 
only  cry  !  I  Ve  tried  to,  and  I  can't,  —  can't  do 
anything  but  think,  and  wonder  what  I  shall  do 
without  Ned." 

She  was  silent  for  a  moment ;  then  she  went  on 
excitedly,  "  Dr.  Brownlee,  if  Ned  doesn't  get  well, 


280         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

I  shall  always  believe  that  Dr.  Hofer  killed  him. 
There  was  a  case  of  fever  across  the  creek,  and  he 
let  the  children  from  that  very  house  go  all  over 
town.  One  of  them  was  in  the  choir,  a  week 
before  Ned  was  taken  ill.  It  was  wicked,  wicked  !  ' 
I  can't  have  Ned's  life  thrown  away,  just  for  that. 
It  mustn't  be  so ;  I  can't  bear  it !  "  And  her 
head  dropped  again,  as  she  wailed,  "  Oh,  doctor, 
can't  you  save  him?  " 

The  sight  of  her  bitter  sorrow  was  more  than 
the  doctor  could  bear,  and  his  own  voice  was 
unsteady,  as  he  answered  sadly,  — 

"  I  will  do  what  I  can ;  but  we  can  only  wait  and 
hope."  He  paused;  then  he  laid  one  of  his  firm 
hands  on  hers,  and  said  in  a  low  voice,  "  Louise, 
I  can't  help  you ;  but  won't  you  give  me  the 
right  to  comfort  you,  to  " — 

But  Louise  interrupted  him. 

"  Wait,"  she  begged.  "  I  can't  think  of  it  now 
—  of  anything  but  Ned.  I  must  go  back  to  him." 
And  she  left  him  alone. 

Late  that  evening,  the  doctor  and  Mrs.  Penny- 
poker  sat  by  the  bed,  almost  breathlessly  watching 
the  boy,  who  lay  in  a  sort  of  stupor.  Dr.  Brown- 
lee  had  come  in  early,  and  announced  his  inten 
tion  of  spending  the  night  in  the  house,  to  watch 


THE    COMPLETED    STORY.  28 1' 

over  his  patient.  He  had  sent  away  Louise  and 
her  father  to  take  a  little  rest,  promising  to  call 
them,  in  case  of  any  change.  For  more  than  two 
hours  he  had  been  sitting  there,  expecting  the  end 
to  come  at  almost  any  moment ;  but  still  the  boy's 
lethargy  was  unbroken. 

Then,  all  at  once,  the  doctor  leaned  forward 
and  gazed  closely  at  the  face  before  him.  The 
change  had  come,  and  Ned  lay  breathing  quietly, 
in  the  longed-for,  life-giving  sleep.  For  a  few 
moments  more  Dr.  Brownlee  sat  there,  scarcely 
daring  to  move ;  then,  with  a  happy  nod  to  Mrs. 
Pennypoker,  he  left  her  to  wipe  her  eyes  unseen, 
and  stole  away  to  tell  the  glad  news  to  Louise. 

He  found  her  in  the  parlor,  in  her  old  position 
by  the  table,  too  much  absorbed  with  her  dread 
and  sorrow  to  hear  his  step,  until  he  was  close  at 
her  side.  She  started  up,  with  the  question  on 
her  lips;  but  before  she  could  speak  the  words, 
a  glance  at  his  face  had  told  her  all.  With  one 
little  glad  outcry,  she  seized  his  outstretched 
hand ;  then  she  dropped  down  on  the  sofa,  to 
hide  her  face  in  the  pillows  and  sob  like  a  little 
child,  in  all  the  fervor  of  her  joy  and  thankfulness. 

The  doctor  stood  waiting  by  her  side,  until  her 
first  outburst  was  over ;  then,  when  she  had  grown 


282         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

more  quiet,  he  bent  down  beside  her,  to  say 
gently,  — 

"  And  now,  Louise  " — 

There  was  no  need  for  many  words.  For  an 
instant,  Louise  looked  up  into  the  expectant  face 
above  her ;  then  she  put  her  hand  in  his. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  TRAGEDY  OF  THE  UNEXPECTED. 

"  DID  you  get  any  letters  this  morning,  Wang?  " 
inquired  Mrs.  Pennypoker,  as  the  Chinaman  came 
in  to  remove  the  dishes  from  the  breakfast  table. 

"No,"  replied  Wang  Kum  briefly. 

"  Not  any  at  all  ?  How  very  strange  !  "  And 
Mrs.  Pennypoker  looked  questioningly  at  Wang 
Kum,  who  returned  her  gaze  with  impenetrable 
composure.  "  I  thought  I  should  surely  hear 
from  brother  Nathaniel  to-day.  What  can  have 
become  of  the  letter  !  " 

"  Wang  no  sabe,"  answered  the  Chinaman  with 
an  almost  imperceptible  shrug. 

He  turned  away  to  go  to  the  kitchen;  but,  just 
as  he  passed  the  window  where  Louise  stood  look 
ing  out,  he  contrived  to  let  a  fork  slip  from  the 
plate  in  his  hand.  Louise  started  at  the  clatter, 
and  glanced  over  her  shoulder,  to  be  met  by  a 
wink  and  smirk  of  infinite  cunning,  before  the  man 
stooped  to  pick  up  the  fork,  and  finally  vanished 
283 


284         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

into  the  outer  room.  A  moment  later  she.  fol 
lowed  him. 

"Did  you  want  to  speak  to  me,  Wang?"  she 
asked,  trying  in  vain  to  appear  unusually  dignified, 
as  she  faced  the  man  who  stood  chuckling  before 
her. 

But  Wang,  by  no  means  abashed  by  her  man 
ner,  bestowed  upon  her  a  second  wink  of  exceed 
ing  craftiness,  while  he  slowly  drew  a  note  out 
from  the  loose  sleeve  of  his  shapeless  blue  coat. 

"  Wang  mus'  a  forgot  him ;  you  no  tell,"  he  said 
softly,  with  a  stealthy  glance  at  the  dining-room 
door  behind  him,  as  if  expecting  to  see  Mrs. 
Pennypoker  appear  on  the  threshold  and  swoop 
down  upon  him  at  any  moment. 

Louise  glanced  at  the  letter  in  her  hand.  She 
was  annoyed  to  feel  her  color  come,  as  she  saw  that 
it  was  addressed  to  her  in  Dr.  Brownlee's  well- 
known  writing. 

"Where  did  you  get  this,  Wang?"  she  asked. 

"  Doc'  Blownlee."  And  Wang  Kum  smiled 
knowingly. 

"  But  he  didn't  tell  you  to  give  it  to  me  this 
way,  did  he  ?  "  she  asked  again. 

"  He  no  tell ;  Wang  sabe,  all  samee.  Wang 
no  fool."  And  Wang  marched  back  to  the 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  THE  UNEXPECTED.   285 

dining-room,  leaving  Louise  to  read  her  note 
unobserved. 

As  she  had  supposed,  it  was  merely  a  message 
to  appoint  the  hour  for  a  ride  they  had  agreed 
upon  for  that  afternoon.  There  was  not  the 
slightest  reason  that  she  should  not  have  received 
and  read  it  under  the  eye  of  Mrs.  Pennypoker; 
but  long  experience  had  taught  her  that  the  ways 
of  Wang  Kum  were  past  finding  out,  so  she  only 
tucked  the  note  into  her  belt  and  went  on  her 
way,  resolving,  however,  to  warn  the  doctor  to 
select  another  Cupid,  in  the  future,  to  be  the  bearer 
of  his  messages. 

Some  weeks  had  slipped  away  since  Ned's  ill 
ness,  and  spring  had  once  more  come  to  Blue 
Creek.  The  crisis  of  the  fever  once  passed,  the 
boy  had  quickly  rallied,  and,  thanks  to  the  devoted 
care  of  Louise  and  the  doctor,  his  recovery  had 
been  sure  and  steady,  until  at  length  he  was  pro 
nounced  nearly  well  enough  to  resume  his  former 
place  among  his  friends.  Then  came  the  time  of 
thoroughly  disinfecting  and  airing  the  house,  for 
Dr.  Brownlee  was  not  the  man  to  leave  any  uncer 
tainty  as  to  results.  His  quarantine  had  been  as 
strict  as  his  later  measures  were  energetic,  and  he 
had  refused  to  rest  until  he  was  assured  that  no 


286         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

danger  could  come  from  his  patient.  Owing  to  the 
negligence  of  Dr.  Hofer,  the  disease  had  been 
spreading  across  the  creek,  until  the  board  of 
health  had  interfered,  and  summarily  taken  the 
cases  from  his  care  to  give  them  into  the  hand  of 
Dr.  Brownlee,  whose  vigorous  treatment  had 
checked  the  trouble,  even  though  it  had  incurred 
the  hostility  of  the  parents  of  the  fever-stricken 
children. 

But  at  last  the  doctor  had  said  that  all  danger  at 
the  Everetts'  was  over,  and  Grant  had  been  allowed 
to  come  home  once  more.  In  spite  of  the  good 
times  he  had  been  having  with  Howard  and 
Charlie,  in  spite  of  the  motherly  welcome  of  Mrs. 
Burnam,  the  boy  had  been  thoroughly  homesick 
during  the  period  of  his  banishment  from  home. 
It  was  the  first  time  that  he  and  his  brother  had 
ever  been  separated,  and  Ned  was  his  hero  and 
idol,  as  well  as  his  constant  companion.  During 
the  long  days  of  waiting,  when  the  fever  was  at  its 
height,  Grant  had  wandered  disconsolately  about 
the  house,  refusing  to  be  comforted,  and  looking 
so  pale  and  miserable  as  to  be  a  mere  shadow  of 
his  usual  bright  self,  and  to  cause  Mrs.  Burnam 
many  an  hour  of  anxiety  lest  he,  too,  were  about 
to  be  ill.  Then  came  the  sudden  change  for  the 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  THE  UNEXPECTED.   287 

better,  and,  for  a  day  or  two,  Grant  was  like  a  wild 
creature  in  the  exuberance  of  his  joy;  but  he  was 
restless  and  anxious  to  be  at  home  with  his  brother 
again,  sure  that  no  one  else  could  take  as  good 
care  of  him  as  he.  He  had  even  waylaid  the 
doctor  on  the  street  one  morning,  and  tried  to 
bribe  him  to  allow  a  return  home ;  but  Dr.  Brown- 
lee  was  firm,  and  Grant  had  been  forced  to  bide 
his  time. 

The  whole  Everett  household  had  been  radiant 
with  its  new  happiness,  during  these  last  few  weeks. 
It  would  have  been  enough  for  them  all  to  have 
Ned  brought  back  to  life,  after  their  terrible  hours 
of  suspense  ;  and  for  days  they  hovered  about  the 
boy,  almost  unable  to  believe  that  their  bright, 
affectionate,  impish  Ned  was  to  remain  with  them, 
after  all.  Even  Mrs.  Pennypoker  had  cast  aside 
her  strict  principles  of  discipline,  and  coddled  him 
and  fussed  over  him  to  her  heart's  content,  while 
Wang  openly  prided  himself  on  being  the  means 
of  his  recovery. 

"  Wang  went  'way  off  out  doors,"  he  had  con 
fided  to  Louise  ;  "  all  lonee  ;  hollered  heap  loud  to 
Up-in-Sky.  Up-in-Sky  no  say  anything  ;  he  sabe, 
all  samee ;  came  down  heap  quick  to  help  Mas' 
Ned." 


?88         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

In  the  midst  of  this  rejoicing  there  had  come  a 
cause  for  even  increased  happiness.  On  the  morn 
ing  after  Ned  had  turned  the  dangerous  corner, 
and  started  on  his  slow  journey  back  into  life  once 
more,  Dr.  Brownlee  had  gone  into  the  parlor  where 
Mr.  Everett  sat  writing  letters,  and  had  closed  the 
door  behind  him.  His  stay  was  only  a  short  one ; 
then  Mr.  Everett  came  out,  and  went  in  search 
of  Louise. 

"  Come,  my  girl,"  he  said  gently;  "Winthrop 
is  waiting  for  you.  Your  mother  would  have  been 
very  happy  to-day,  as  happy  as  I  am."  And  he 
led  her  to  the  parlor  door ;  then  he  went  away, 
and  left  them  alone  together. 

To  Louise,  it  had  seemed  as  if  the  world  had 
suddenly  been  created  anew  that  spring.  The 
days  flew  by  like  one  long,  happy  dream,  while 
she  spent  hour  after  hour  amusing  her  brother 
during  his  tedious  convalescence,  or  left  him  to 
Mrs.  Penny  poker's  care  when  she  escaped  to  the 
parlor,  to  enjoy  the  doctor's  short,  but  frequent 
calls.  Ned  had  been  as  rapturous  as  his  sister 
when  the  good  news  was  told  to  him ;  and  he  had 
saluted  the  doctor  as  Brother  Brownlee  upon  the 
occasion  of  his  next  visit. 

"It's  just  too  jolly,"  he  had  said,  with  the  first 


THE   TRAGEDY   OF   THE   UNEXPECTED.      289 

return  of  his  old,  irrepressible  manner.  "  I  'cl 
rather  have  you  take  Lou  than  anybody  else  I 
know;  and  I  'm  no  end  glad  I  helped  it  on.  You 
know  you  'd  never  have  come  to  the  point,  if  I 
hadn't  scared  you  both  out  of  your  senses  ;  but " 
—  he  paused,  and  then  asked  wickedly,  "  but 
I  say,  Lou,  what  do  you  suppose  the  Reverend 
Gabriel  will  have  to  say  about  it?  " 

The  Reverend  Gabriel,  in  the  mean  time,  had 
kept  himself  informed  on  the  subject  of  Ned's 
illness,  and  although  he  had  held  himself  at  a 
prudent  distance  from  all  danger  of  infection,  he 
had  not  neglected  the  young  invalid.  As  soon  as 
it  was  definitely  known  that  the  boy  was  on  the 
way  to  recovery,  Dr.  Hornblower  had  sent  him, 
through  the  safe  medium  of  the  post-office,  a  little 
book  of  "  Sick-room  Meditations,"  whose  black 
cover  bore  the  cheering  design  of  a  tomb  under  a 
pair  of  weeping  willows.  Though  the  gift  was 
doubtless  intended  in  all  kindness,  it  was  received 
with  more  amusement  than  gratitude,  and  Ned 
kept  it  under  his  pillow  to  read  aloud  choice  bits 
from  it,  whenever  Louise  and  Dr.  Brownlee  were 
together  in  his  room. 

But,  during  the  weeks  that  the  Reverend  Gabriel 
had  been  unable  to  call  at  the  Everetts',-  he  had 


2QO  IN   BLUE   CREEK   CANON. 

been  slowly  making  up  his  mind  upon  a  matter  of 
weighty  importance ;  and  now  at  length  the  time 
had  come  for  him  to  carry  out  his  intentions. 

The  Reverend  Gabriel  Hornblower,  it  should  be 
stated,  was  a  romantic  soul ;  and,  in  his  tanned, 
weather-beaten  old  body,  there  throbbed  a  heart 
as  ardent  as  ever  beat  in  the  breast  of  a  boy  of 
eighteen.  Its  manifestations,  however,  were  often 
a  little  eccentric,  for  its  owner  was  as  ignorant 
and  unworldly  as  a  child.  For  years  he  had  fed 
his  elderly  imagination  upon  the  most  impassioned 
love  scenes  to  be  found  in  the  pages  of  novel  or 
biography.  Unfortunately  for  him,  there  -was 
nothing  in  the  least  modern  about  his  literary 
taste ;  but  he  had  confined  his  reading  to  the  his 
tories  of  the  Evelinas  and  Cherubinas  of  yore, 
until  his  idea  of  the  tender  passion  was  as  old- 
fashioned  and  stilted  as  the  books  from  which  it 
had  been  derived.  Nevertheless,  the  Reverend 
Gabriel  was  becoming  weary  of  boarding-house 
existence,  and  beginning  to  long  for  the  comforts 
of  home  and  the  charms  of  conjugal  society. 

It  would  be  hard  to  say  whether  the  sight  of 
Louise  Everett's  blonde  beauty,  or  the  contempla 
tion  of  his  own  frayed  cuffs  and  ragged  buttonholes 
had  been  the  moving  cause ;  but  the  result  was  the 


THE  1  RAGED Y  OF  THE  UNEXPECTED.   2QI 

same.  Upon  this  particular  afternoon,  he  had 
spent  an  hour  in  reading  over  one  of  his  old 
favorites ;  then,  seizing  his  hat  and  cane,  with  an 
air  of  desperate  resolution,  he  had  hurried  out  of 
the  house,  and  up  the  street  towards  the  Everetts'. 

He  was  ushered  into  the  parlor  by  Wang  Kum, 
who  assured  him  that  Louise  would  soon  be  at 
home,  and  rolled  out  the  great  leather-covered 
chair  from  its  accustomed  corner,  in  order  that 
the  Reverend  Gabriel  might  be  as  comfortable  as 
possible,  while  he  awaited  her  coming.  Then  he 
withdrew,  leaving  the  guest  to  his  meditations. 

They  were  not  altogether  enjoyable  ones,  how 
ever.  Wang  Kum  had  told  him  that  Louise  was 
riding  with  Dr.  Brownlee,  and  the  Reverend  Ga 
briel,  with  the  jealous  eye  of  a  lover,  was  not  slow 
to  discern  a  possible  rival  in  the  handsome  young 
man,  who  had  been  a  constant  attendant  at  the 
house,  during  the  past  few  weeks.  Moreover, 
the  room  was  very  warm,  and  the  Reverend  Ga 
briel  was  beginning  to  grow  a  little  uncomfortable, 
for  Wang  Kum,  with  the  keen  malice  of  his  race, 
had  carefully  arranged  the  chair  directly  opposite 
the  register,  which  brought  the  heat  from  the 
stove  in  the  next  room.  Dr.  Hornblower  had 
been  feeling  rather  nervous,  all  that  day ;  now  hq 


292         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

feared  that  he  was  becoming  feverish.  He  drew 
his  hand  across  his  moist  brow,  and  sighed  anx 
iously.  Could  it  be  that  he  was  going  to  be 
ill? 

At  length  Louise  came  in.  She  looked  so 
bright  and  pretty  in  her  dark  habit,  and  with  her 
golden  hair  loosened  by  the  wind  and  curling 
about  her  face,  that  the  Reverend  Gabriel  felt  his 
admiration  momentarily  increasing,  while  he  gazed 
at  her.  And  yet,  something  in  her  fresh,  girlish 
beauty  made  him  long  to  draw  back  from  his 
coming  interview,  as  he  rose  to  greet  her,  and 
caught  sight  of  his  own  dull,  brown  face  in  the 
mirror  above  her  head. 

"  I  hope  I  haven't  kept  you  waiting  too  long," 
Louise  said  courteously,  while  she  unbuttoned  her 
gloves  and  slowly  drew  them  off.  "  It  is  such  a 
glorious  day  that  we  stayed  out  a  little  longer 
than  we  meant  to." 

"  It  is  a  fine  day,  a  very  fine  one,"  returned  the 
Reverend  Gabriel,  eagerly  catching  at  the  safe 
topic  of  the  weather. 

"  Yes,  and  we  were  shut  in  so  long  that  I  enjoy 
being  out,  more  than  ever,"  said  Louise,  while  she 
speculated  vainly  as  to  the  doctor's  motive  for  this 
call. 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  THE  UNEXPECTED.   2Q3 

"  You  have  had  a  painful  experience,"  he  an 
swered  gloomily;  "a  trying  and  painful  experi 
ence  ;  but  I  trust  that  you  are  benefited  by  it. 
My  thoughts  were  continually  with  you  during 
the  —  um  —  the  ordeal." 

"  Thank  you,  Dr.  Hornblower,"  Louise  returned 
gratefully.  "  Our  friends  were  all  very  kind." 

"  Doubtless  they  were,"  responded  Dr.  Horn- 
blower,  as  he  sympathetically  wiped  his  eyes. 
"  We  were  all  grieving  over  the  prospective  de 
mise  of  a  young  brother.  And  yet  some  conso 
lation  would  have  reached  you,  Miss  Everett; 
love  is  the  only  pocket-handkerchief  to  wipe  the 
mourner's  eyes." 

Louise  blushed  hotly  at  the  reference.  Al 
though  she  had  made  no  secret  of  the  matter  of 
her  engagement,  still  she  was  a  little  surprised  to 
have  the  Reverend  Gabriel  allude  to  it  in  such  an 
unexpected  fashion.  But  she  was  determined  to 
carry  off  her  embarrassment  as  easily  as  possible, 
so  she  smiled  brightly,  as  she  said,  — 

"  Then  you  have  come  to  congratulate  me ; 
thank  "— 

"  Pardon  me  !  "  interrupted  Dr.  Hornblower,  as 
stiffly  as  if  his  rheumatism  had  suddenly  pene 
trated  from  his  joints  to  his  manners,  "  It  is  not 


294         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

yet  the  time  for  congratulation;  and,  when  the 
hour  comes,  it  is  I  who  will  receive  them." 

"You?"  And  Louise  stared  at  the  Reverend 
Gabriel  in  unfeigned  astonishment. 

"  At  least,  so  it  is  to  be  hoped,"  returned  the 
doctor  gravely. 

For  a  moment,  there  was  an  awkward  pause, 
while  Louise  wondered  whether  the  worthy  min 
ister  had  suddenly  taken  leave  of  his  senses,  and 
the  doctor  writhed  uneasily  in  his  chair,  as  he 
realized  that  his  hour  had  come.  The  hush  was 
beginning  to  be  painful,  and  Louise  was  just  open 
ing  her  lips  to  speak,  to  say  something,  no  mat 
ter  what,  when  she  was  suddenly  struck  speechless 
by  seeing  the  Reverend  Gabriel  lay  his  hat  and 
cane  on  the  floor  beside  his  chair,  then  clumsily 
kneel  down  before  her  and  clasp  his  hands.  For 
one  brief  instant,  she  supposed  that  he  was  about 
to  give  her  the  benefit  of  his  professional  services, 
and  she  composed  her  face  to  listen  with  befitting 
gravity ;  but  his  first  words  dispelled  the  illusion. 

"  Louisa,"  he  began,  in  a  tone  so  devoid  of  ex 
pression  as  to  suggest  the  possibility  of  his  having 
written  out  the  words  and  committed  them  to 
memory ;  "  Louisa,  behold  me  a  suppliant  before 
you,  begging,  imploring  "  — 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  THE  UNEXPECTED.   295 

But  Louise  had  started  from  her  chair,  and  stood 
facing  him,  her  cheeks  white  with  mortification  for 
herself  and  pity  for  him. 

"Dr.  Hornblower,"  she  begged  hastily;  "  get 
up,  please !  You  mustn't  say  any  more." 

"  But  you  do  not  catch  my  full  meaning,"  he 
went  on.  "I  ask  you" — 

"  Get  up  at  once,"  she  repeated.  "  You  mustn't 
say  it ;  it 's  impossible  !  Suppose  some  one  should 
come  in.  Oh,  do  get  up  !  " 

Yielding  to  her  evident  alarm,  he  awkwardly 
scrambled  to  his  feet,  and  threw  himself  down  in 
in  his  chair  once  more,  with  a  force  that  pushed  it 
back  against  the  opposite  wall. 

"  Truly,  I  never  thought  of  such  a  thing," 
Louise  said  penitently.  "  I  always  supposed  that 
you  came  to  see  Cousin  Euphemia,  not  me ;  or  I 
might  have  prevented  this." 

"Why  should  you,  Louisa?"  returned  the  Rev 
erend  Gabriel,  with  a  cheerful  assurance  that  grated 
upon  her  ears.  "  I  am  willing  to  wait  and  hope  ; 
my  heart  is  eternally  yours." 

"  Oh,  I  hope  not !  "  she  answered  quickly. 
"  Really,  Dr.  Hornblower,  it  never  can  be,  never 
could  have  been ;  I  never  even  thought  of  such 
an  idea.  You  have  always  been  very  kind  to 


IX   BLUE    CREEK   CANON. 


me,  I  know,"  she  went  on  hesitatingly,  trying 
to  soften  her  words  a  little  ;  "  but  I  thought  it 
was  only  because  you  felt  a  fatherly  interest  in  me." 

"  I  'm  not  so  old  as  you  seem  to  think,"  began 
Dr.  Hornblower  testily;  then,  bethinking  himself 
that  this  was  not  according  to  his  models,  he  made 
a  dramatic  pause,  before  he  asked  his  final  ques 
tion,  "  Is  there,  then,  Another?  " 

Louise  hung  her  head  and  blushed. 

"  I  'm  afraid  there  is,"  she  faltered. 

"And  his  name?" 

The  girl  looked  at  him  haughtily  ;  then  her  face 
softened,  as  she  thought  of  the  mortification  that 
she  was  inflicting  upon  the  old  man  before  her,  and 
she  answered  gently,  — 

"  It  is  Dr.  Brownlee." 

Once  more  the  Reverend  Gabriel  hesitated.  He 
had  carefully  rehearsed  his  part,  until  he  was  thor 
oughly  familiar  with  it;  but  his  imaginary  inter 
views  had  taken  only  the  one  form,  and  he  had 
never  counted  upon  such  an  ending  as  this.  How 
ever,  he  was  resolved  to  carry  it  through  to  the 
close  ;  and,  after  a  hasty  review  of  the  ways  of 
rejected  lovers,  he  recalled  the  case  of  the  luck 
less  Alphonso  Ludovico,  and  felt  himself  prepared 
to  yneet  the  new  emergency. 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  THE  UNEXPECTED.   297 

"  It  is  the  end,"  he  said  slowly.  "  Pardon  my 
intrusion,  Miss  Everett;  I  will  no  longer  impose 
upon  your  kindness.  I  go  forth  upon  my  lonely 
way." 

He  started  to  rise  from  his  chair,  but  came  to  a 
sudden  pause,  while  a  sound  of  rending  and  crack 
ing  broke  the  silence  that  had  followed  his  tragic 
words.  All  unconsciously,  Wang  Kum  had  given 
him  the  sticky  chair;  and  the  heat  of  the  room  and 
the  doctor's  feverish  agitation,  had  combined  to  pro 
duce  the  catastrophe.  The  Reverend  Gabriel  Horn- 
blower  was  trapped  as  effectually  as  a  fly  in  a  pool 
of  molasses,  and  could  only  struggle  helplessly  in 
his  efforts  to  free  himself. 

Louise  came  to  his  relief,  and  together  they  suc 
ceeded  in  separating  his  coat  from  the  chair-back, 
and  he  took  his  ignominious  departure.  The  young 
girl  stood  looking  after  him,  until  he  disappeared 
around  the  corner,  then  she  fled  to  her  own  room, 
and  into  the  very  depths  of  her  closet,  to  smother 
the  sound  of  her  hysterical  laughter.  But  when  at 
last  she  grew  quiet,  her  face  became  very  gentle 
once  more,  as  she  said  to  herself,  in  a  tone  of  wo 
manly  pity,  — 

"  Poor  old  man !  But  at  least,  I  can  keep  his 
secret ;  not  even  Winthrop  shall  ever  know." 


203         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 


In  the  mean  time,  the  Reverend  Gabriel  had 
slowly  betaken  himself  to  his  lonely  room,  where 
he  laid  aside  his  hat,  and  approached  the  mirror. 

"  No,"  he  said  to  himself,  as  he  stood  gazing  at 
the  reflected  face  before  him  ;  "  it  wouldn't  do  ;  it 
wouldn't  do.  She  's  too  beautiful ;  and  I  'm  —  too 
old."  And  he  seated  himself  in  his  worn  old  easy- 
chair,  and  took  up  the  book  he  had  laid  aside  an 
hour  before. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

UNDER    ORDERS. 

IT  was  less  than  t\vo  weeks  after  the  Reverend 
Gabriel's  call  upon  Louise,  that  Mr.  Burnam  came 
up  from  his  office,  one  noon,  with  a  letter  in  his 
hand. 

"  Well,  daught,"  he  called,  as  Allie  ran  out  to 
meet  him  ;  "  where  's  mamma?  I  have  some  news 
for  her." 

"News!  What  is  it?  Nothing  very  bad,  I 
hope,"  she  answered,  as  she  seized  his  hand  in 
both  of  hers,  and  hurried  him  towards  the  house. 

"  That  depends,"  he  said  laughing.  "  Wait  till 
we  get  into  the  house,  and  then  I  '11  tell  you." 

"  I  don't  believe  it's  much  of  anything,"  she  de 
clared  scornfully.  "If  'twas,  you  never  could 
wait  to  tell  us." 

"  We  '11  see  about  it,"  responded  her  father,  as 
he  entered  the  house. 

But  it  was  not  until  they  were  all  seated  about 
the  lunch  table  that  he  would  tell  them  his  news. 
From  the  central  office  of  the  railway  by  which  he 
299 


300         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

had  been  employed  for  the  past  five  years,  a  letter 
had  come  to  him,  that  very  morning,  offering  him 
the  position  of  consulting  engineer  for  the  com 
pany,  an  advance  which  would  bring  him  much 
honor  and  more  salary.  For  a  few  moments  there 
was  a  babel  of  congratulation  and  rejoicing ;  then 
Mrs.  Burnam  put  an  end  to  it  all  by  asking 
quietly,  — 

"  And  when  shall  we  have  to  leave  here?  " 

"Leave?"  And  Allic  turned  to  stare  at  her 
mother  in  consternation. 

"  Yes ;  of  course  we  shall  have  to  go  away  from 
Blue  Creek  very  soon,"  answered  her  mother  cheer 
fully  ;  for,  though  at  heart  she  was  as  sorry  as  Allie 
to  leave  her  pleasant  friends  in  the  little  camp,  she 
was  unwilling  to  let  her  one  regret  throw  a  shadow 
over  her  husband's  happiness  in  his  promotion. 

"  Leave  Blue  Creek,  and  the  Everetts,  and  Mar- 
jorie,  and  all?  Let's  not  go,"  urged  Howard. 
"  The  old  road  isn't  worth  it,  papa." 

Mr.  Burnam  laughed. 

"I'm  sorry  you  don't  think  so,  Howard,"  he 
answered  ;  "  but  I  'm  afraid  we  must  go.  St.  Paul 
isn't  a  bad  place  to  live  in;  and  we  should  have 
had  to  leave  here  this  spring,  anyway,  for  my 
present  survey  won't  take  me  much  longer.  I  'm 


UNDER   ORDERS.  3OT 

tf 

to  report  for  duty  in  two  months,"  he  added, 
turning  to  his  wife  once  more.  "Will  that  give 
you  time  to  get  ready?  " 

"  Two  weeks  would  do,"  she  said  promptly;  "  I 
haven't  been  your  wife  all  these  years  for  nothing. 
I  'm  sorry  to  go  away  from  here,  of  course,  for 
we  Ve  made  pleasant  friends ;  but  I  sha'n't  be 
sorry  to  have  a  settled  home.  Besides,  it 's  time 
the  children  were  in  some  good  school,  if  they  're 
ever  going  to  college." 

"  What  do  you  think  about  it  all,  Charlie?" 
asked  his  uncle.  "  You  haven't  told  us,  yet." 

"  I  'm  about  as  much  mixed  up  as  Auntie  is," 
he  replied  slowly,  while  he  gave  Allie's  hand  a 
consoling  pinch,  as  it  lay  on  the  table,  toying 
with  her  fork.  "  I  don't  want  to  leave  the  doc 
tor,  and  the  boys,  and  all,  and  this  place  has  been 
immense  fun ;  but,  as  long  as  I  can  be  with  you 
people,  I  don't  mind  much  else,  and,  if  we  go  to 
St.  Paul,  I  can  stay  with  you  till  I  'm  ready  for 
college, — that  is,  if  you'll  keep  me." 

"  We  won't  send  you  off  just  yet,"  returned  his 
uncle.  "  Howard  and  Allie  would  have  something; 

o 

to  say  about  that,  I  fancy.  Let  me  see ;  this  is 
May,  and  I  have  to  be  ready  by  the  first  of  July. 
We  shall  have  to  leave  here  the  last  week  in  June, 


3O2  IN   BLUE    CREEK   CANON. 

so  you  must  make  the  most  of  your  time  till 
then." 

"  Oh,  dear  !  "  sighed  Allie,  as  she  and  the  boys 
were  starting  for  the  Everetts',  that  afternoon,  to 
tell  the  great  news.  "We  never  stayed  so  long  in 
one  place  before,  and  I  began  to  hope  we  'd  live 
here  always.  We  Ve  had  such  good  times,  too, 
'specially  since  Charlie  came ;  and  I  don't  want 
to  leave  all  these  people." 

"  'T  isn't  all  of  them,  though,"  responded  How 
ard.  "  There  aren't  so  many  I  care  about,  if  we 
could  take  the  Everetts  and  Fishers  and  Dr. 
Brownlee  along  with  us." 

"  And  the  mountains,  and  Wang  Kum,  and  our 
ponies,"  added  Allie.  "  Janey  says  she  '11  go  too. 
But  it 's  no  use  to  try  to  count  up  what  we  're  leav 
ing,  or  I  shall  just  sit  down  and  begin  to  cry." 

"  Better  not,"  advised  Howard  practically ;  "  it 's 
no  end  dusty,  and  we  can't  spend  time  to  brush 
you  off.  Besides,  St.  Paul  is  right  on  the  way  to 
everywhere,  and  we  shall  see  people  when  they 
go  East.  Don't  you  go  to  being  in  the  dumps, 
sis;  't won't  mend  matters  to  grumble,  and  we've 
moved  before  without  its  killing  us." 

But  in  spite  of  his  advice  to  his  sister,  Howard 
was  the  most  disconsolate  member  of  the  party, 


UNDER   ORDERS.  303 

as  they  sat  on  the  Everetts'  front  steps,  talking  of 
the  separation  in  store  for  them. 

"  It 's  a  perfect  shame,"  lamented  Marjorie,  who 
had  joined  them  there.  "  You  belong  to  us,  and 
oughtn't  to  go  away.  I  had  it  all  planned  out, 
too.  We  were  all  going  to  grow  up  here  to 
gether,  and  have  ever  so  much  fun.  Allie  and  I 
would  keep  old  maid's  hall,  and  have  you  four 
boys  board  with  us.  Howard  would  be  a  civil 
engineer,  and  Charlie  a  doctor,  and  Grant  have  a 
store,  and  Ned  be  a  minister;  and  we'd  just  have 
an  elegant  time." 

"  'Specially  me  !  "  remarked  Ned,  in  a  tone  of 
supreme  disgust.  "  I  Ve  no  desire  to  step  into  Dr. 
Hornblower's  shoes,  when  the  old  man  finally 
gives  up  and  goes  over  the  range.  Preaching 
isn't  in  my  line ;  I  '11  help  Charlie  keep  his 
shothecary  pop,  and  sell  patent  medicines.  But, 
honestly,  with  half  of  us  gone,  the  rest  will  be 
dismally  lonesome.  We  shall  need  Allie  to  keep 
us  straight,  and  Howard  to  keep  us  stirred  up." 

"  And  Charlie  for  general  all-overishness,"  added 
Marjorie.  "  Say,  Howard,  do  you  remember  the 
day  we  put  Vic  into  the  empty  barrel,  and  turned 
a  bushel  basket  over  him,  'cause  he  would  follow 
us,  every  step  we  took?" 


304         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

Howard  chuckled  at  the  recollection. 

"  Yes.  How  he  did  yell !  But  do  you  remem 
ber  the  time  we  shut  Marjorie  up  in  the  office 
closet,  Ned,  and  then  went  off  and  forgot  her?  " 

"  That  must  have  been  .before  I  came,"  said 
Charlie.  "  How  did  she  get  out?  " 

"  What  a  question  !  didn't  you  ever  hear  Mar 
jorie  squeal?"  asked  Grant  scornfully.  "But,  I 
say,  you  lads,  do  you  remember  that  day  that 
Charlie  Mac  came,  and  we "  —  Grant  paused 
abruptly. 

"  We  what?  "  demanded  Charlie. 

"  Oh,  nothing."  And  Grant  retired  behind  Mar 
jorie,  to  blush  unseen. 

"What  was  it?"  urged  Charlie  again.  "Go 
on  and  tell,  Grant." 

"  You  hush  up  !  "  And  Ned  gave  his  brother  a 
threatening  glance. 

"  I  'm  going  to  tell,  then,  if  you  won't,"  said 
Allie  laughing.  "  If  we  don't,  Charlie  will  think 
it's  something  ever  so  much  worse  that  'tis.  All 
was,  the  boys  didn't  mean  to  like  you  anyway,  and 
didn't  want  you  to  come.  The  day  you  came, 
they  went  down  to  the  station,  and  hid  around, 
waiting  to  get  a  look  at  you,  to  see  what  you  were 
like.  And  the  worst  of  it  all  was  "  — Allie  paused 


UNDER   ORDERS.  305 

mischievously,  and  then  went  on  ;  "  they  found  you 
weren't  half  so  bad  as  they  supposed  you  were 
going  to  be." 

"If  we  could  only  go  back  again,  and  start 
there  all  over  fresh  !  "  sighed  Marjorie. 

"  We  couldn't  have  a  bit  better  time  than  we 
have  had,"  returned  Charlie.  "  We  Ve  made  the 
most  of  our  chance,  and  we  may  as  well  be  thank 
ful  for  it.  Oh,  but  didn't  I  f:el  shaky,  that  first 
morning,  when  the  train  stopped,  and  I  had  to  get 
out !  Allie  looked  about  ten  feet  high  and  thirty 
years  old,  when  I  saw  her  standing  on  the  plat 
form  ;  and  I  was  sure  I  was  going  to  be  afraid  of 
her.  Wasn't,  though,"  he  concluded,  giving  her 
hair  a  friendly  tweak. 

"  Besides,  't  isn't  quite  so  bad  as  if  we  had  to  go 
right  away,"  added  Allie  hopefully,  as  they  rose  to 
go  home.  "  We  have  two  months  more ;  and 
there  's  time  for  ever  so  much  to  happen,  between 
now  and  then." 

But  the  two  months  hurried  past  them,  and, 
before  any  one  realized  it,  the  Burnams  were  on 
the  eve  of  their  departure.  As  Marjorie  had  said 
when  the  subject  was  first  mentioned,  it  was  harder 
to  stay  than  to  go,  for  those  left  behind  had  to 
keep  on  in  the  same  old  routine,  where  they  so 


306         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

keenly  felt  the  loss  of  their  friends  who,  on  their 
side,  were  full  of  anticipations  for  the  new  places 
they  would  see,  the  new  acquaintances  they  would 
make,  while  the  bustle  and  excitement  of  packing 
kept  them  too  busy  to  realize  all  that  they  were 
leaving  behind  them. 

It  had  been  decided  that  the  Burnams  were  to  go 
away  from  Blue  Creek  the  last  week  in  June,  and, 
soon  after  this  plan  was  arranged,  Louise  and  Dr. 
Brownlee  had  announced  their  intention  of  being 
married  on  the  twenty-fourth,  in  order  that  their 
friends  might  be  present  at  the  wedding,  so  the 
last  few  weeks  had  found  the  Everett  household  in 
as  great  excitement  as  were  the  Burnams.  It  was 
to  be  only  a  quiet  church  wedding,  followed  by  a 
small  reception.  Louise  had  reduced  Allie  and 
Marjorie  to  a  state  of  speechless  delight,  by  ask 
ing  them  to  be  her  bridesmaids ;  while  the  doctor 
had  laughingly  protested  that  Charlie  and  Ned 
should  act  as  ushers,  since  they  had  been  instru 
mental  in  bringing  himself  and  Louise  together. 
After  a  little  discussion,  this  plan  had  been 
adopted,  and  the  four  young  people  were  much 
impressed  with  their  consequence,  in  taking  part, 
for  the  first  time,  in  so  important  a  ceremony. 

On   the   evening  before    the   wedding,  they  all 


UNDER    ORDERS.  3O/ 

walked  up  together  from  their  rehearsal  in  the 
chapel,  and  stopped  for  a  little  while  on  the  Ever- 
etts'  front  steps,  where  they  were  joined  by  How 
ard  and  Grant. 

"  To-morrow,  and  the  next  day,  and  the  next, 
and  then  it  will  all  be  over,"  said  Marjorie 
pensively. 

"  I  honestly  haven't  had  time  to  think  about  it, 
this  last  week,"  said  Allie.  "  We  Ve  been  so 
topsyturvy  and  busy  that  I  haven't  thought  of 
anything  but  packing  and  the  wedding." 

"  No ;  we  '11  be  the  ones  to  do  the  thinking," 
said  Ned,  as  he  stretched  himself  out  at  his  ease, 
on  the  railing  to  the  little  porch.  "  With  Lou 
married,  and  you  three  going,  there 's  nothing 
else  left  for  us  to  do.  I  'm  going  to  turn  hermit, 
and  move  up  the  gulch." 

"I  wouldn't,  before  fall,  if  I  were  .  in  your 
place,"  returned  Howard,  in  a  tone  too  low  to 
catch  the  ears  of  the  others. 

"  What's  next  fall?  '"'   asked  Ned  listlessly. 

"  Don't  you  give  it  away  that  I  told  you,"  said 
Howard,  while  he  joined  his  friend  on  the  rail ; 
"  but  I  happened  to  hear  your  father  talking  to  my 
father,  to-day;  and  it's  all  settled  that  you  and 
Grant  are  coming  to  St.  Paul,  next  winter,  to 


308         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 

board  with  us,  and  go  to  school.  Hush  up  !  "  he 
added,  as  Ned  gave  a  little  exclamation  of  delight. 
"  Don't  tell  the  others,  for  I  oughtn't  to  have  said 
anything  about  it;  but  I  couldn't  hold  in  any 
longer." 

For  an  hour  more,  they  sat  there ;  then  Grant's 
voice  broke  the  hush,  as  he  put  his  head  in  at  the 
open  window  of  the  parlor,  where  his  .sister  and 
Dr.  Brownlee  were  sitting  in  the  moonlight. 

"That's  the  seventh  time  you've  said  good 
night,  Lou,"  he  remarked,  in  a  hollow  tone ;  "  and 
I  should  think  the  eighth  'most  ought  to  do  the 
business,  unless  you  want  to  be  dead  sleepy,  to 
morrow  night,  while  you  're  in  the  middle  of  being 
tied  up." 

The  next  evening  found  the  chapel  crowded. 
Every  seat  was  occupied,  and  the  side  aisles  were 
filled  with  the  miners  and  their  wives,  who  stood 
waiting  to  look  on  at  the  marriage  of  "  our  Miss 
Lou,"  for  she  was  a  favorite  with  them  all.  At 
length  the  murmur  of  voices  died  away,  as  Mr. 
Nelson  took  his  place  in  the  chancel,  while  the 
little  organ  pealed  out  the  opening  strains  of  the 
wedding  march.  A  moment  later,  the  doors 
swung  open  and  the  bridal  party  entered,  Charlie 
and  Ned  leading  the  way,  with  Allie  and  Marjorie 


UNDER   ORDERS.  309 

following  them,  while  Mr.  Everett  and  his  daugh 
ter  came  after  them.  Louise  was  beautiful,  in  her 
simple  white  silk  gown,  although  she  looked  a  lit 
tle  pale  and  nervous,  as  she  saw  so  many  eyes 
turned  upon  her.  Then  she  forgot  it  all,  all  the 
crowd  and  the  excitement,  and  even  the  friends 
gathered  about  her,  and  her  face  grew  radiant  with 
her  love,  for  Dr.  Brownlee  had  met  her  at  the  head 
of  the  aisle,  to  lead  her  forward  to  the  altar ;  and 
above  the  low  notes  of  the  organ,  she  heard  the 
quiet,  earnest  voice,  as  it  followed  Mr.  Nelson's 
through  the  familiar  words,  — 

"  I,  Winthrop,  take  thee,  Louise,  to  my  wedded 
wife." 

Their  troths  were  plighted,  the  ring  was  slipped 
into  place,  and  the  blessing  was  pronounced. 
Then,  as  Winthrop  Brownlee  and  his  bride  turned 
to  face  the  congregation  once  more,  the  organ 
rang  out  in  a  triumphal  march,  and  the  bell  in 
the  little  tower  overhead  burst  into  a  merry  peal. 
The  sound  rolled  far  up  and  down  the  valley,  and 
the  mountains  echoed  back  the  happy  tidings ; 
then  the  evening  quiet  once  more  descended  upon 
Blue  Creek  Canon. 


310         IN  BLUE  CREEK  CANON. 


L'ENVOI. 

THE  last  leaf  ended,  ere  you  lay 
My  book  aside,  and  turn  to  rest, 

Read  here,  old  friends,  between  the  lines, 
My  loving  memories  of  your  West. 

The  distance  shortens  to  my  eyes; 

To-morrow's  sun  will  sink  to  rest 
Behind  your  hills.     One  day  is  all 

That  separates  us,  East  and  West. 

Then  hasten  forth,  my  little  book, 
Speed  on  your  way,  nor  pause  to  rest; 

But,  turning  towards  the  setting  sun, 
My  greetings  bear  from  East  to  West, 


:  TREMONT,"  Twenty-seventh  May,  1892. 


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"  Cannot  be  dispensed  with  by  those  who  would  grasp  the  significance  of  the 
st  memorable  event  of  our  own  time."  —  N.  Y.  Sun. 


THE  FOUflDlHG  Of  THE 

8V  WmiilflJVI  I. 


Based  chiefly  upon  Prussian  State  Documents. 

Translated  from  the  German  of  HEINRICH  VON  SYBEL  by  Professor 

MARSHALL  LIVINGSTON  PERRIN,  of  the  Boston  University;  5 

volumes;   Svo,   cloth,  per  volume,  $2.00;   $10.00  per  set. 

Half  morocco,  $15.00. 

THE  welding  together  into  a  mighty  united  nation  of  the  petty 
dukedoms  and  principalities  which  fifty  years  ago  made  up  the 
heterogeniety  of  Germany  was  the  greatest  political  feat  of  this  cen 
tury.  Dr.  Von  Sybel,  pre-eminently  fitted  by  nature  and  training 
to  be  the  historian  of  this  tremendous  creation,  had  the  additional 
advantage  of  access  to  original  sources  of  information  in  the 
archives  of  Prussia,  Hanover,  Hesse  Cassel,  and  Nassau,  and  the 
State  papers  and  diplomatic  correspondence  preserved  in  the  foreign 
office  at  Berlin.  His  history,  therefore,  may  be  accepted  as  abso 
lutely  authentic,  and  that  it  has  been  so  accepted  is  shown  by  the 
universal  chorus  of  praise  from  German  critics  which  greeted  its 
first  appearance,  and  by  the  fact  that  within  two  months  of  publica 
tion  fifty  thousand  copies  were  sold.  Sybel's  style  is  remarkably 
smooth  and  attractive,  full  of  vigor,  life,  and  movement,  and  it  has 
been  admirably  rendered  into  idiomatic  English  by  Professor  Per- 
rin,  whose  long  residence  in  Germany  made  the  language  like  his 
mother  tongue  to  him.  Finely  engraved  portraits  of  the  Emperors 
William  I.,  Frederick,  and  William  II.,  and  of  Bismarck  and 
Moltke,  give  additional  value  to  the  volumes. 


"  Since  the  death  of  Ranke,  Von  Sybel  has  occupied  unquestionably  the  first 
rank  among  German  historians."  —  American  Hebrew* 

"  The  translation  of  this  admirable  history  is  very  well  done  indeed.  It  reflects 
few  of  the  German  involutions,  and  reads  smoothly  and  flowingly.  Of  the  history 
itself,  it  must  be  said  that  nothing-  comparable  to  it  in  fulness,  clearness,  trust 
worthiness,  and  vigor,  has  been  written  concerning  the  great  events  of  which  it 
treats."  —  N.  Y.  Tribune. 

"  No  reason  to  believe  that  it  will  be  superseded  during  the  present  genera 
tion."—  N.Y.  Sun. 

"  No  more  important  historical  work  has  appeared  in  the  last  decade"  —  Nation. 

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THIS  BOOK 


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THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


GENERAL  LIBRARY  -  U.C.  BERKELEY 


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